Bullet Wounds
by The Teddy Bear
Summary: When people die, there is always the heartbroken left behind. And there's only so far the heartbroken can be pushed before they break. Before they fall from grace. Laura Stark has already broken. Her husband left her with the responsibility of a week-old baby on her hands. Her father blames himself. And he won't speak to Laura out of guilt. Laura!verse book four
1. Chapter 1: This has to stop

**A/N**

 **I'M BACK!**

 **Please don't be put off by the fact that not a lot of action happens n this chapter... I promise that shit will go down next chapter!  
Until then, I'll actually _reply_ to reviews on this story! Leave questions, comments, criticisms etc. in the reviews, but constructive criticism please!**

 **Enjoy the story!  
~ TTB**

"Again, really Laura?" Natasha asked, and grabbed the bottle of beer from Laura's hand and poured the remaining contents down the sink. Laura glared at her, and pulled another bottle from under her bed.

"This isn't good for you, and it's not good for Jamie. Yeah, Steve's dead, but you need to stop feeling sorry for yourself and pull your shit together. Not just for our sake or Coulson's, but think about your son. Think about what Steve would say if he were here." Daisy said, folding her arms and looking at her fellow inhuman.

They still hadn't told her about her heritage. Laura was dying to know, and both Daisy and Coulson avoided the question like the plague. Daisy was just waiting for the right moment to spring it on her, but the moment just hadn't seemed to arise yet. It had been six months since Steve died, and in that time, Laura had slowly become more and more depressed. She refused to go on missions, and she stayed locked in her bunk whenever she could, drinking any alcohol she could get her hands on. They all understood her pain; it was obviously hard on her, especially as Tony was avoiding her because of what happened that day at the courthouse. They all knew he was blaming himself, and was too guilty to face her.

There was a knock at the door, and Coulson, Hunter and Clint marched in. Hunter held Laura's old uniform, Coulson an icer and Clint a bucket of water.

"What do you want?" Laura asked, lying back on her bed.

"Enough is enough, Laura. We've let you mourn, longer than anyone else, but there comes a point when you need to pull yourself the hell together and get back to work. We need you, the proper you, not the washed out drunk pathetic you. So I'm giving you a choice: take your uniform and your icer and sober up, or get out and go and live at Avengers Tower." Coulson warned.

Laura glared at them all for a moment, then took her uniform and passed the beer to Hunter, who took it more than willingly. "Fine." She said, and stood up.

Clint then poured the bucket of water over her head.

"WHAT THE HELL, BARTON?" She screamed.

"There's your motivation. Bet you can't catch me." Clint smirked, then bolted out the door. Laura's eyes narrowed, and she pushed everyone out, pulled her old uniform on and grabbed the icer Coulson left on her bed. She pulled her long brown hair into a messy bun, then stepped outside the door and was greeted by everyone, minus Clint, that had just exited.

"Where the hell did he go?" she asked dangerously.

"Left." Natasha said almost instantaneously.

Laura sprinted off, with Daisy and Nat close behind, giggling. Eventually they caught up to Clint, who sprinted out of his hiding place and down the corridor.

"I don't bloody think so." Laura muttered, and shot Clint in the middle of his back with her new icer.

He fell immediately, and Laura turned and left him in the middle of the corridor.

"Aren't you gonna…" Daisy began.

"Nope." She smirked, and walked back towards where she left the others. "He deserved it!" she called back.

* * *

"I still feel bad lying to her." Daisy admitted to Coulson later that day. "She deserves to know."

"I don't feel comfortable asking her until we find out more about who she actually is. We really need to ask Stark if he knows who her mother is." Coulson explained.

"How the hell would Stark know? Even he agrees with Laura's jokes that it was probably a drunken one night stand neither of them really remember." Daisy exclaimed.

"It's worth a try." Coulson said. "We can go over there now if it'll ease you a little." He offered, and Daisy sighed.

"Fine. But we're bringing Laura along so we can lock them in a room and make them be friends again."

Coulson laughed and agreed. Ten minutes later they, Laura and a very hastily fetched Jamie were in an SUV on the way into New York where Tony was currently residing.

"I really don't understand why I'm needed for you two to see my dad." Laura spoke after twenty minutes of silence.

"We thought he'd like to see his grandson." Coulson responded too quickly.

"You're hiding something from me." Laura called to the two casually.

"Why would you assume that?" Daisy asked.

"I have this natural gift, it's called being able to read you two like a bloody book." Laura replied. "But I won't ask you about it properly until you've asked my dad if he knows who my mum is, which he doesn't. He won't give you anything remotely new to go on. Believe me, I've tried."

"How did you know that's what we're going to do?" Coulson asked, looking back at her for a second.

"What else would you possibly have to talk about with my dad?" Laura asked, not expecting an answer.

"Hi, Phil. Skye, Laura. Is that Jamie?" Tony asked excitedly the minute they entered the new Avengers facility. And, not waiting for an answer, took Jamie out of Laura's arms then moved away from the trio.

"Actually I'm going by Daisy now. Found my mom and dad, and they told me my real name." Daisy explained.

"Nice! Congratulations on finding your parents, what were they like?" Tony asked her, focused on the sleeping boy in his arms.

"One was a psychopath and the other one… yeah, she was a psychopath as well. A manipulative vampire psychopath." Daisy said, and Coulson chuckled at the description of Jaiying.

"A manipulative vampire psychopath. I've had my fair share of psychopaths in my years… I could go on about the ones that tried to kill me for technology, but there was one that tried to suck the life out of me after a lovely night together."

Coulson and Daisy looked at each other immediately.

"Tony, a private word?" Coulson asked immediately. "Without Laura." He added as Laura made a move to join the three.

She groaned, then took Jamie from Tony and sat down on the sofa nearby.

"Jarvis, can you tell me what they're saying?" she asked as soon as they were out of earshot.

"Regrettably, ma'am, I already have orders from Director Coulson not to disclose the details of their conversation to you." Jarvis responded immediately. Laura groaned again, and lay back on the sofa. She would just have to wait.

* * *

"The woman who tried to suck the life out of you, what did she look like?" Coulson asked when he was sure Laura couldn't hear.

"Brown hair, I think. Chinese, maybe. Quite short. I can't quite remember her name." Tony reeled off the vague features he could remember.

Daisy looked like she had seen a ghost. "Jaiying?" She whispered.

"Yeah! That was it! Cool name, right?" Tony said.

"Did you two…" Coulson asked lightly.

"Yeah… I hardly think that's a question with me." Tony joked awkwardly.

"Thanks. You've been a big help." Coulson said quickly, and turned to leave.

"Hang on, Phil. What's this about?" Tony asked, blocking the exit.

"It's about Laura. We think she has an alien gene, and we're trying to track down her heritage from her mothers side to see if we can find traces of it that way." Coulson explained. "We're fairly certain it's not from your side of the family." He added when Tony opened his mouth to say something.

"Now that you've told us about Jaiying, we think we know why she has this gene." Daisy added. She looked like she was about to cry.

"How come?" Tony questioned, still not allowing them to leave.

"Because she's my mom as well." Daisy whispered, avoiding looking Tony in the eye.

"Shit." Tony muttered.


	2. Chapter 2: Metamorphosis

"Daisy?" Laura called from the other end of the corridor. Daisy sped up and turned the corner away instantly. How the hell did she explain that they were basically sisters? She couldn't… the words just wouldn't come to her. She had been avoiding Laura ever since they got back from Stark Tower four days ago.  
"Daisy?" Laura called again, starting to jog to keep up. Daisy started to jog as well, conscious that Laura could catch up any second. The woman was a lot more experienced than her, after all.  
" _Daisy?"_ Laura shouted this time, making everyone in the corridor turn and stare at her. Well, everyone except the person Laura was addressing, that is.

"Laura, I'm so busy right now…" Daisy started, but Laura was taking none of it, and quickly cut her off.

"Daisy, seriously, I know when something's up. I know _you_. Why aren't you trusting me with whatever my dad told you the other day?" Laura asked, pulling Daisy into a small alcove and folding her arms.

"Okay, look; Coulson wants me to tell you… but I don't know how I can break it to you without you _freaking out_." Daisy said, already choosing her words carefully.

"Why am I fearing the worst already?" Laura asked warily.

"Because it really is bad. Seriously, imagine the worst, then times it by ten. That's how bad it really is."

"Just tell me." Laura said, exasperated.

"Your mom was part of a race of beings known as the Inhumans. It means you are part alien, so you have a gene that, when exposed to the right chemicals, will alter your entire DNA and give you powers. It's how I got my powers." Daisy explained. Laura's face seemed to get paler and paler with every word Daisy said, and it was quite unnerving.

"Right… how did you find this out?" Laura asked. It was hard for her to accept, and she was trying to find a way to doubt Daisy's information that wouldn't offend her.

"We asked your dad… and he told us about a woman who tried to suck the life out of him after they… did some stuff together. And I know this woman to be an Inhuman. Or, she was… she's dead now." Daisy said, her voice trailing off towards the end.

"So… so I'm…" Laura's voice grew quieter and more confused.

"Inhuman." Daisy confirmed.

"Wow…" Laura muttered. "Does that mean that Jamie…"

"Probably."

Laura made a move to say something else, when an alarm was sent off and Coulson sped by.

"Sir, what's going on?" Laura called, as she and Daisy fell into a jog either side of him.

"Security breach… someone's trying to get in through the front door." Coulson explained.

"The Front door?" Daisy echoed incredulously

"At least when Steve did it, he went through a window!" Laura joked. She knew she'd slipped up when Daisy and Coulson stopped and started at her.

"I was going to tell you… at some point." Laura said, a glint of mischief entering her eyes.

Coulson opened his mouth to say something new, but then the doors at the end of the corridor burst open with a loud crash, and a single man strolled inside.

"Y'know, Mrs. America… it's harder than you think to find you." Said Bucky Barnes, as he slowly put his hands up and winked at Laura.

Laura dropped her gun instantly and rolled her eyes. "You've got to be joking. Why the hell didn't you just knock?" she called back at him.

"I did… no-one answered!" he said simply, shrugging as if this was all there was to it.

Laura's eyes narrowed as she glared at him. "It's alright… this is Bucky Barnes. You can all go back to what you were doing." She said to the extra agents that had crowded around with their guns raised. "And it's Agent Stark to you." Laura said to Bucky with a warning in her eyes.

Bucky didn't reply, but he complied when Coulson gestured for him to follow them back down the corridor and to the interrogation room.

"It's standard procedure for anyone who intends to be here for a while to be psycho-analysed upon entering so that we know you don't have any dirty secrets to hide. Even I had to do it." Explained Daisy from her new position behind Bucky to prevent him from escaping.

"That sounds like an enormous amount of fun." Drawled Bucky sarcastically. Laura turned her head to glare at him, but all he did was wink at her.

* * *

When Bucky's analysing was over and he was cleared Laura led him to the mess hall, where she made them both pasta in silence. She was trying to avoid looking at this man in the eye, and trying to make sure he didn't see the tears that were threatening to escape her eyes.

"Are you okay?" Bucky asked seriously as Laura ferociously grated cheese over a bowl.

"Why?" Laura replied curtly.

"You're blanking me. Have I done something wrong?"

"Six months. It's been six months since he died and only now you come and find me? What the hell was the point?" Laura all but shouted at him, still not looking at him and slamming her hand down on the worktop.

"I wanted to help you. I really did, but do you think it's easy trying to track you down and simultaneously avoiding Hydra because they installed a tracker in my damn arm?" Bucky said, his tone matching hers.

"Of course I know how hard it is! I was where you were as well. Remember that? Yet I still managed to get away from them, and it took less than half the time that it took you… and how much older than me are you? Sixty, seventy years? It should have been child's play." Laura said, turning around and facing him, her anger and grief reflecting in her face more than it should have been possible.

They kept furiously staring at each other for over a minute, then Bucky enveloped her in a hug. There was a sudden damp feeling on his shirt, and he looked down to see the younger woman was softly crying.

"I know… I miss him too." Bucky said, letting his own tears slowly fall onto her soft hair.

They were interrupted by a shrill noise letting them know that the pasta was done. Bucky let go and Laura rushed to tend to the food. Bucky leant back against the counter and observed the young woman working. She was so small; Steve must have dwarfed her. He chuckled at the sudden image that entered his mind: Laura sat on top of Steve's shoulder, now the size of a giant.  
Bucky wondered what horrors she had seen. She couldn't be more than twenty six or seven, yet he could clearly see a pink scar on her neck, and a multitude of others on her arms and what looked like the beginning of quite a large slash down her back from under her loose shirt that hung where the rest of her jumpsuit that was tied around her middle was supposed to be. He supposed he was the same. He preferred not to look at or count the amount of scars he had collected over the years as the Winter Soldier. He only knew of a few; his favourite was a slash across his stomach from a knife that the woman with fiery red hair had given him years ago.

Bucky was brought out of his train of thought by Laura pushing a bowl of green pasta towards him.

"Want to come and meet Jamie?" she asked softly.

Bucky was taken aback at first, but nodded and followed her towards a small room not far away from the kitchen which was a complete contrast to what the rest of the base was; it had colourful walls and was equally colourfully carpeted. It had small toys that a toddler would find amusing strewn everywhere and a cot was against the far wall. In the middle of the room was a mat with a small boy lying on it, giggling as Simmons and Bobbi played with him.

Their faces fell slightly as they saw Laura's companion, but, following a small nod of assurance for Laura, moved back slightly so Laura could pick him up.

"Hi there…" Bucky said softly, offering Jamie his metal hand, and Jamie grasped one of his fingers in his tiny fist. Bucky chuckled and waved at Jamie with a look of utter adoration on his face.

"This is Uncle Bucky" Laura said softly to Jamie.

"Uncle?" Bucky questioned.

"Well what would you rather be? Auntie Bucky certainly has a nice ring to it." Laura teased.

"Uncle is fine." Bucky said curtly.

Seeing Jamie made Laura remember the conversation she and Daisy had been having before Bucky had arrived, and her face fell.

"You okay?" Bucky asked once he noticed.

"Yeah… I just need to talk to Daisy… can you help Simmons and Bobbi keep an eye on him?" Laura asked, already handing Jamie back to an equally confused Simmons.

"Sure, but-"

"Thanks!" Laura interrupted, then sped off in the direction of Daisy's bunk.

* * *

Daisy didn't know where it had come from, but she needed to get rid of it. Quickly. She stared down at the blue crystal in horror as the realisation that Jaiying had probably slipped it inside her bag dawned upon her.

She didn't mean to drop it. She would never wish the Inhuman burden on anyone, but Laura scared her when she burst into her bunk and slammed the door.

Daisy let out a small squeal and jumped as she heard the door bang open and slam shut. The crystal slipped out of her hand and onto the floor, where it smashed and started to release the familiar mist that had engulfed her almost two years ago.

"Oh God… I'm so sorry, Laura." Daisy whispered as Laura looked at Daisy in horrified confusion. Then Laura felt something encase her ankles and start to climb up her legs.

"D- Daisy what's going on?" Laura said, trying hopelessly to move her feet and get whatever was encasing her off of her legs. "Daisy… Daisy… help me!" Laura pleaded as it enclosed her neck, arms and then her entire being.

For what seemed like an eternity, but also no time at all, Laura saw black, and every cell burned and changed. She tried to move he fingers, her neck, her legs… _something_ , but nothing worked.  
Then she felt a tingling warmth in her fingers that started to travel up her arms. Laura tried to open her eyes, and she saw Daisy staring intently at her with a mixture of horror and interest in her eyes that were glistening with tears. The casing that surrounded her seemed to melt off and drop off her skin. Laura looked down, and saw that her hands, arms and part of her shirt were glowing a fiery red, and suddenly her shirt burst into flames.


	3. Chapter 3: Where Is She?

Laura had barely been gone five minutes when the fire bell went off. The shrill noise made Jamie ball his face up and wail as Simmons, Bobbi and Bucky looked at each other uncertainly.

"Give me the kid." Bucky said, running at Simmons and grabbing Jamie from her. "Do you guys ever have drills?" He asked, and felt like someone had punched him in the stomach when they both shook their heads.

They all took off towards the nearest exit outside and found it blocked off by flames coming from one of the bunks. "Are there any other exits?" Bucky asked frantically, turning to the two women behind him. Bobbi nodded and they followed her halfway across the base towards the aircraft hanger.

"Where's Laura and Daisy?" Asked Coulson when he joined the four at some point.

Bucky's eyes widened in horror. He pushed Jamie into Simmons' arms and tried to run back towards the flames. Bobbi and Coulson ran forwards and pulled him away, Bucky resisting their grip frantically, desperately trying to break free and get to Laura.

"Let me _go!_ She's the only family I've got left! _Let me find her!_ " he shouted at them as he tried to pull away.

"And what if she's already out and you die trying to find her?" Coulson shouted back. "Her husband's dead, her father won't speak to her. Imagine her having that on her conscience as well!"

Bucky slacked against Coulson's grip and stopped fighting. He sank to his knees and placed his head in his hands.

"I understand what you're feeling." Coulson said, crouching to Bucky's level. "I've lost everything too. I've been where you are. But she will be fine." He stopped when his phone buzzed in his pocket. "Hang on." He smiled at him, then got up and walked away.

"Daisy? Please tell me you're with Laura and out safely?" he pleaded into his phone. When he heard Daisy yell what had happened into the phone, his face slacked and a hand went to his forehead. "Is the fire under control?" Coulson asked, carefully avoiding Bucky's gaze. "She _what_?" he all but shouted down the phone. "Fine. I'll be there in two." Coulson hung up and strode away, avoiding Bucky at all costs. He let himself back in the base and ran down the eerily empty corridors until he reached Daisy's bunk.

* * *

The entire outside was charcoal black. The wooden door was still smouldering and was halfway off its hinges, which gave Coulson a good view of the carnage inside. Daisy was barely conscious, and was stood with her back against the wall basically hyperventilating.  
Laura was unconscious, her entire body was glowing a pale red. Half her hair had been scorched off, and her jumpsuit, which was supposed to be fireproof, had been burnt so much it was nearly falling off.

"What the hell happened here?" Coulson said quietly, but loud enough that his words made Daisy jump.

"I found a crystal in a bag, I was only looking at it, I swear, then Laura burst in and she made me jump… I dropped the crystal and… the… the mist…" Daisy stammered, and Coulson nodded in understanding.

"Any ideas what kind of powers she has?" he asked.

"Fire, I'm guessing… it would make sense for her to have another natural force as a power, considering I have earthquake powers." Daisy muttered.

" _WHERE IS SHE_?" Shouted a voice from the end of the corridor, and Bucky sprinted towards where Coulson stood, flanked by Fitz, Simmons, Bobbi and Hunter.

He reached Daisy's bunk and faltered for a moment when he saw Laura unconscious in the middle of the carnage, then looked at Daisy, and his eyes darkened. He pulled her up by her shoulder and slammed her against the wall, his metal arm against her neck.

" _What the hell did you do to her?"_ He shouted in her ear, and Daisy just looked at him for a second, then threw him across the room with her powers so he slammed into the wall opposite and slid to the floor. He got up seconds later, slightly dazed, but more than a little pissed off.

"I ask you again." He said, deadly calm, the Winter Soldier mindset taking over once more. "WHAT DID YOU DO TO HER?"

Despite her phenomenal power, Daisy started to get scared. Bucky's eyes were dark, his long hair was falling across his face. He advanced slowly towards Daisy, never breaking eye contact, never blinking.

"The crystal… I dropped it and she… she changed. I.. I'm so sorry. She's like me now. She caused the fire." Daisy stammered out at Bucky, who clenched his teeth together and turned to look at Coulson.

"What do we do?" He asked, coming out of the cold, murderous frame of mind, and instead starting to worry about Laura.

"Daisy, could you and Lincoln maybe train her up a bit? Take her to Afterlife?" Coulson suggested calmly, taking care not to aggravate Bucky.

Daisy nodded, but was shit a sharp glare by Bucky.

"What _exactly_ is 'afterlife'?" He asked with clenched teeth.

"It's a place where people like me go to train and learn about their powers. I was trained there, and I'm sure Laura could benefit from going there as well." Daisy explained with an aura of leadership around her that she didn't have before.

"People like you?" Bucky asked uncertainly.

"Inhumans."


	4. Chapter 4: I'll Make Him Pay

**A/N**

 **Hi guys, quick question: how do I successfully kill a guy who completely spoiled Star Wars: The Force Awakens for me? Also, the best method of hiding a body?**

Laura wasn't exactly a stranger to waking up in an unfamiliar room. It had happened on multiple occasions, but only once before had she not have an inkling of where on Gods earth she was. And that occasion had not ended well for her.  
Admittedly, this room seemed a _lot_ nicer than the Hydra treatment room she had awakened in the last time this had happened, but it was still unnerving. There was a strange feeling in the air and there was something she couldn't seem to shake – the feeling of absolute dread.  
The bed had white sheets and no blanket on the top, but she noticed that she was not shackled down to stop her escape, however she did have weird needles pressed into her skin that made her arms feel heavy and weak, like someone had placed a load of stones onto her body to stop her moving.  
The room itself Laura couldn't see clearly; her vision was blurred and no matter how hard she blinked, it wouldn't focus.  
"Is your vision blurred?" Asked a voice. American, Male. Deeper than some but higher than most.  
"Who the hell are you?" Laura asked blindly, trying to find his blurred figure in the coloured nothingness that was the room she lay in.  
"I didn't realise you forgot people so quickly, Laura." _Lincoln._  
"Lincoln? Why are you here? And, come to think of it, where is this place?" Laura angled her head towards where Lincoln's voice was coming from.  
"Welcome to Afterlife, Agent Stark. The home of the Inhumans. I'll be your transitioner whilst you get used to the powers you now possess." Lincoln tried to explain. "So is your eyesight blurred?"  
Laura nodded; she wanted to actually be able to see.  
"We thought that might be the case… see, when your powers set into motion, your body's cells became fireproof, but for some reason the ones in your eyes did not, so when you had a burst of power at the beginning of your transformation, your eyes were badly damaged; therefore, blurred eyesight."  
"So what are we going to do about it?" Laura asked, confused and only a little bit annoyed.  
"I've had a friend of mine engineer you a pair of glasses. They should be here in a few minutes, but until then you'll have to suffer." He said, and Laura groaned.  
"I really don't want to wear glasses." She groaned, and shut her eyes tightly, as if this would instantly repair her vision.  
"I'm afraid you don't have a choice… unless, of course, you would rather walk into everything and not be able to look anyone in the eye?" Lincoln snapped, his annoyance showing in his tone of voice.  
Laura rolled her blurred eyes and didn't respond.  
"Where's my son?" she asked after about a minute of silence.  
"He's here… he's sleeping next door at the moment." Lincoln informed.  
"And where _is_ here?" Laura asked again. She wanted a better answer than just 'afterlife'… whatever that meant.  
"I still don't know. Somewhere in Asia though. Are you aware of what happened to you?" Lincoln changed the subject to something he actually _did_ know.  
"Some change to do with a mist? I don't know the specifics… Daisy was explaining the process when we got distracted by my friend."  
Lincoln raised an eyebrow at this, curiosity overtaking professionalism.  
"Don't ask." Laura advised.  
"Agent Stark?" May's voice entered the room.  
"What?" Laura snapped.  
"Coulson asked me to give you this." She said, and handed a blurred object towards Lincoln, who passed it to Laura. She felt around it, and discovered it was the pair of glasses Lincoln promised. Her limbs started to feel lighter, and like she could move them again. Laura placed the glasses on her face, and the room came into view.  
It had a vibrant autumnal colour to it. Oranges and golden browns were everywhere; the walls, ceiling, the floor. It almost reminded Laura of the view from the room where she grew up in late September; the trees outside would always turn a different shade of gold and fall slowly to the road. She always used to sit for hours and stare out of the window at the leaves falling away, and would always pay close attention to them in the spring when they started to grow again. But the spring was never the same to Laura. To her, there was always something more magical and fascinating about autumn.  
"Much better!" Laura exclaimed as she started to sit up and remove the little spikes in her skin.  
"And another thing; Coulson wants to see you. Says it's urgent." May informed. "He's in the next room." She turned on her heel and slipped out of the room.  
"Great." Laura groaned. "What have I done now?" She jumped off the small bed and reached for the clean set of clothes on the bedside table. "You could leave the room to give me some privacy?" she asked, raising an eyebrow and gesturing to where May had just exited. Lincoln raised both eyebrows, then turned and walked out of the room.  
She eyed the clothes next to her; a red checked shirt and faded jeans. _Jesus, am I at Clint's farm?_ She thought as she looked at herself in the mirror. All she needed now was a Cowboy hat, then she'd complete the 'Hipster Cowgirl' look that someone had clearly picked out for her.

* * *

She strolled through the doorway barefoot and entered a room filled with computer screens with surveillance footage playing on each one.  
"Sir?" Laura called to Coulson's turned back. He turned to face her with a look of pure worry and anger on his face. "What's happened?" Laura said in a smaller voice.  
"It's Bucky." Coulson said softly, pulling Laura towards the corner of the large room, so she was at least slightly out of earshot from the other agents in the room. "There was a fire at the base… we didn't realise your- your _transformation_ had set than just Daisy's bunk on fire, so we had to evacuate. Bucky ran straight into an official of US Government, who handed him over straight away. Long story short… Tony has Bucky."  
There was an unfamiliar tingling of heat that coursed through Laura's form and took over. She could smell the hem of her shirt starting to smoulder and closed her eyes tightly to try and cool herself down.  
"What are we going to do about it?" She asked, feeling the heat taking control.  
"At the moment I'm trying to get through to Tony on his cell, but he keeps outing me through to answerphone… Daisy's just trying to hack past his firewall."  
Daisy's hand waved from a random screen that Laura hadn't noticed before now.  
"Got him!" She said suddenly, and Tony's face appeared on the screen, with the most fed up look on his face.  
"I'm trying to have a nice day with my girlfriend. Is that so much to ask?" his exasperated voice spoke. "Laura?" he noticed her suddenly, and his face dropped. She just looked at him with raised eyebrows. "What do you want, Phil? And please make it quick; for some reason I can't hang up on you, so this had better be worth my time." He regained his usual annoying persona in a split second.  
"Is Mr. Barnes in your possession?" Coulson cut to the chase; he couldn't deal with Tony for long today.  
"I don't believe that's any of your business, but yes he is." Tony replied.  
"Under the jurisdiction of the 1977 act for the international power of the Strategic Homeland Intervention Enforcement and Logistics Division, I have the authorisation to demand you hand him over. He is ours to deal with and you have no power to reprimand him yourself." Coulson said, using his scary 'I mean business' voice.  
"Sorry, no deal. That act technically has no jurisdiction anymore since S.H.I.E.L.D. collapsed. Plus, this case is personal. Barnes killed my parents, so I am personally overseeing the case against him. I am making sure he loses. I am making sure he _pays_."


	5. Chapter 5: He's Done Nothing Wrong

**A/N**

 **Thanks for the reviews:**  
 **candycrum: you can find out now ;)** **Daughter of ironman06: I know... I didn't mean for him to be this douchy but it just kinda happened XD**

"I can't let you leave Laura. Your powers are too unstable and you would be a danger to everyone around you." Coulson said the second before Laura started to say anything about going to rescue Bucky.  
"I have to help him! I know my dad, and if he said he'll 'make Bucky pay', then that usually means life imprisonment. Or _worse_." Laura retorted, making another move toward the door on the far side.  
"No." Coulson said threateningly.  
"Or _what_?"  
" _Or_ I'll be forced to suspend you from field work. For at _least_ a year."  
Laura glared at Coulson, turned on her heel and marched out of the room, feeling her palms heating up already.  
"Where are you going?" Coulson shouted at her retreating form.  
" _To see my son!"_ Laura shouted back, and slammed the door behind her.  
They had been arguing for around half an hour, both repeating the same point over and over again; getting louder and louder; angrier and angrier. She knew Coulson was only trying to protect her, but it was different when it came to Bucky. She felt a strong sense of duty; finishing his rehabilitation. Finishing the work that Steve had started years ago.  
"Laura?" Called a voice from behind her as she approached the building where she had been told Jamie was. Laura turned and saw Clint and Natasha behind her, in full tactical gear.  
"What?" She asked warily, pushing one of her sleeves up slightly and stepping cautiously towards them.  
"You're going after him anyway, aren't you?" Natasha asked, stepping closer to the young woman.  
Laura's dark eyes met the green, and she nodded softly.  
"We're in." Clint said, stepping forward as well.  
"What?" Laura asked incredulously. "I can't ask you to go after him with me… I can't risk losing you too."  
"So you know how to fly a quinjet? You can hack into a government communications backchannel and find out where they're keeping him? You can take out twelve armed government soldiers? All while trying not to raise any alarms or using those new powers of yours?" Clint asked, with both eyebrows raised and arms crossed. "If you can, I applaud you."  
Laura heaved a heavy sigh and glared at them both. " _Fine."_ She groaned. "Give me ten minutes to change."

Ten minutes, they had hijacked a quinjet and were already in the air.  
"S.H.I.E.L.D. 218 you have unauthorised access to leave Afterlife. Respond immediately or risk being shot down. Over." May's voice crackled into the quinjet and the three agents looked at each other in panic.  
"Why can't we have hyperspeed?" Laura muttered under her breath.  
"Because this isn't Star Wars." Clint snapped, winking slyly at her.  
"This is Agent Romanoff. We will not be turning around, so you can suck it up and deal with it, or lose three of your best Agents." Natasha said back with determination. "Is Coulson really prepared to do that?" She added.  
There was a delay of around ten seconds before May responded.  
"He says if you're not all back within twenty four hours, he will suspend all three of you from active field work and have you sorting through files for the next five years." May relayed the message, which earned a collective snort from the three truant agents.  
"Orders received. Over and out." Natasha cut off communications, and the jet started to travel faster, in the direction of the East Coast of America.  
"He won't really suspend us for five years" Clint broke the tense silence. "He threatened us with that years ago… but all we got was extra laps around the training course, and that only took us an extra ten minutes out of our free time. He's too soft to punish us too harshly."  
Laura chuckled at the thought of Natasha and Clint running at the speed of Pietro whilst Coulson glared at them in a gym.

* * *

James Barnes sat in the smallest cell they could have crammed him into. The man with the goatee seemed familiar. He looked almost like Howard… but Howard was dead. He remembered firing the bullet himself; watching it hit the man he had once called a friend. A man he had once shared a beer with whilst giggling at watching Steve try and flirt with that woman with the red hair… her face was as clear as day, but her name… it started with a P. That much was as far as he remembered. Penny? Paige? Piper? Pegg- _Peggy_. That was her name.  
To be honest, the only thing he was sure of was that he was in a cell. He didn't know where in the world, what time it was, who had him…  
Another thing he was almost certain of; it was the chair for him. What year was it? _2015_. Do they still _use_ the chair in this day and age? Bucky didn't know… but there was something he did know about the chair… he did not want to find out. Not-Howard looked so vindictive; so enraged; so victorious when he looked him in the eye. If not the chair, then life imprisonment was almost guaranteed.  
The door rattled like it was being forced open. It did so for what seemed like an eternity; it probably did when whoever was behind that door would lead him to almost certain death. The door suddenly steamed and the lock melted away… _Laura_.  
It swung open, and, sure as anything, Laura's form emerged in the doorway; behind her, the archer and the redhead. _Natasha._ He needed to remember her name was Natasha.  
"Well don't just sit there like an idiot! Let's go!" Laura said, and Bucky jumped up and into action. He filed into place in front of the Archer, but behind the Redhe- _Natasha_ , and Laura.  
They sprinted down several corridors, past so many security cameras that at every turn, Bucky suspected being gunned down or worse. It was only when Laura faltered that he _knew_ something was wrong.  
"Dad… he's done _nothing_ wrong." Laura spoke to a gold and red metal suit at the other end of the corridor.  
"Nothing? _Nothing?_ " Said the metal suit's voice. Bucky knew who it was now. Why he had seemed so familiar. _Howard's son. Tony Stark. "He killed my_ _parents. Your grandparents._ God knows how many others he's killed in _cold blood_."  
Laura's face slackened in disbelief. Her hands began to heat up in the wake of her anger.  
"And how many people have _you_ killed because you could? Because you're smart enough to make completely new and effective weapons to be used on civilians? _How many_? Because there's not a chance in _hell_ that it's less than the people the Winter Soldier killed. The Winter Soldier doesn't even exist anymore. All that's left of that empty shell is an innocent victim of Hydra's tyrannical terrorism."  
The man in the metal suit did not speak. The permanent scowl stared at its wearer's daughter in what seemed like disbelief. Laura stepped forwards, and, with no sign of resistance from Tony, started to stride towards him, followed by the others. As she tried to pass him, he grabbed her arm and stared down at her. She stared up at him with cold, unfeeling eyes until he let go because his suit had started to melt off his body where he held her arm.  
"What the?" Tony asked quietly, his mask snapping up and revealing a face of utter disbelief. Laura didn't say a word. She yanked her arm away and continued down the corridor, and this time, they were met with no resistance whatsoever. They had almost turned the corridor when the meta voice spoke again.  
"Laura, what happened to you?"  
Laura didn't answer. She just glared at her father, then turned to corridor and away from his gaze. From there, they weren't met with any resistance. It was only when they got on the quinjet, parked in a school football field nearby, that any of the spoke.  
"Why didn't you tell Stark what happened to you, Laura?" Clint asked curiously from the cockpit.  
"Because if he really wanted to know, he would have asked as soon as Coulson notified him that I was unconscious. And _he didn't_."


	6. Chapter 6: Steve

**A/N**

 **HAPPY NEW YEAR GUYS!**

 **Review replies:  
Candycrum: Thanks for the compliment about the tension! And if I told you, it would spoil the whole plot, wouldn't it ;)**

 **Have a good 2016 guys!  
~TTB**

 _Six months later._

 _Laura didn't know where she was. It was dark and cold, and the corridor she was in, which went on further than her eye could see, seemed wrong… odd.  
She tried to take a step forward, but found her feet somehow glued to the floor. Instead, she settled for twisting her body so she could see what was behind her; black. An empty nothingness that went on forever and forever.  
"Laura." A horribly familiar voice echoed around in her ears and she turned slowly to face him. He was dead. His blonde hair shone lighter than it ever had in Laura's memory and his crystal eyes seemed somehow bluer, purer. He seemed taller, more muscular since that day on the steps of the courthouse. He walked forward, and Laura tried to move back, away from him. This, almost ghostly version of Steve felt wrong.  
"What's wrong?" He asked in a soft voice, reaching out and caressing her cheek. His touch felt strange; the usually soft and warm hands were unnaturally cold and his skin felt like a strangers. A second hand joined the first on her opposite cheek, and he leant down and kissed her softly. Even his kiss felt wrong. Laura yanked her head away, but wasn't faced with her husband; instead with Grant Ward, who held a gun aimed at her neck. She barely had time to frown in confusion before the bullet hit her. Laura looked down at the blood seeping into her clothes, then looked back up, and Ward had been replaced by her father, who had the exact same smirk on his face as Ward as they locked eyes. He still held the gun, and started to walk towards her, emptying the gun of bullets as he went. Then, Laura wasn't inside her own body anymore, she was watching from behind Tony, who now had his gun pointed at someone different.  
Her one year old son looked at his grandfather with curiosity as Tony turned around to face Laura, who still could not move. He smiled at Laura, and shot at the boy._

Laura's own scream woke her up to a burning room. Everything in sight was on fire; her wardrobe, chest of drawers, that picture of herself and Steve on their wedding day. Jamie's co- _Jamie_.

Laura jumped out of her burning bed and sprinted towards he small boy's cot. He was gone. Laura's eyes widened, and she searched everywhere for the boy, running through the fire painlessly trying to find her son.  
"Laura?" came a shout through the flames, and a woman whose hair matched the fire emerged, coughing and spluttering even with an oxygen mask on.  
"Where is he?" Laura screamed back, kicking over some burning debris and only making the flames climb higher.  
"I got him as soon as we realised what was going on! He's safe, Laura!" Natasha shouted back, offering her hand, which was covered in large burns.  
Laura felt the smoke finally infiltrate her lungs and fill them up.  
"Oh…" she said, her vision getting blurred despite the glasses. "Well…that's good…" she said weakly, and passed out at Natasha's feet.

* * *

 _'Why do I always end up in hospital?'_  
Laura opened her eyes to the pure white tell-tale sign of a hospital room. She reached her hand to where she assumed her glasses were, and patted around for a moment, before her hand landed on them and shoved them on her face. Everything came into focus, and Laura's suspicions were confirmed by the beauty of good eyesight; she was in a hospital bed. She shifted her head to the right, and her heart skipped a beat when she saw who was sat, asleep, beside her.  
She made a small coughing noise to wake the damn man up, and he jolted awake, his eyes looking startled and strangely relieved to see his daughter had woken up.  
"Laura? Are you… okay?" Tony asked her in a small voice, adjusting himself so he was facing her.  
"What the hell are you doing here?" Laura demanded immediately, crossing her stiff arms and raising her eyebrows.  
"Coulson called; said you'd caused a fire and were unconscious. Are you going to explain _how_ or _why_ you did that? Considering you nearly melted my armour off of my skin last time I saw you?"  
Laura sighed and clamped her eyes tight shut, hoping that when she opened them again her father would be gone and replaced with just about anyone else. He wasn't.  
"It's complicated… I assume you know that I'm not exactly… human?" Laura asked, trying to help her father to understand without her having to go through the science of what had happened. She _really_ hated science.  
"Yeah?" Tony half answered, half asked.  
"Did Daisy mention the fact that sometimes we can go through a change? Like metamorphosis in a way? Every cell in our body changes, and we can gain powers. That's what happened to me. I'm literally a walking firebomb if I can get them completely under control… tonight was proof that they aren't." Laura explained as best she could.  
"Tonight? Laura, you've been unconscious for a week. We honestly weren't sure you would make it." Tony said, taking the news that his daughter had completely changed surprisingly well despite what the news actually was.  
"Wait… what day is it?" Laura said, bolting upright despite the slight stiff pains it caused her.  
"The fifteenth, why?" Tony asked curiously.  
Laura's eyes widened in shock, she jumped out of the bed onto weak legs, and sprinted from the room. Tony frowned after her for a moment, before the realisation of what day it really was sprung to his mind.  
 _Steve._

* * *

Laura was met with no resistance as she ran through the base towards her room, the emerged literally a minute later wearing a black dress, heels and clutching a hairbrush and makeup bag in her arms. She wasn't even met with resistance when she yanked Jamie out of Pepper's arms and ran down the corridor with him in her arms until they reached Bucky's room. He sat up and his face relaxed in relief to see that she was awake, but then his expression turned to confusion when he saw her attire. The small boy smiled and waved a pudgy hand when he recognised his uncle.  
"Laura, what's going on?" He asked, getting up and taking her cosmetics from her before she dropped her son.  
"Steve…" she muttered, and Bucky understood immediately, grabbed a jacket and followed her to the aircraft hangar.  
Most of the agents in charge of the aircraft hangar had already realised what day it was; Steve had been an inspiration to them all and some were planning a trip to his grave later that day, so they let them pass through and commandeer a vehicle without checking their intentions.  
Bucky was aware of the trip; Clint and Natasha had organised it and over half of the base were attending. But this was personal. Most of the people on the base had never spoken to Steve, and were going out of respect and admiration for the man, but he did _not_ want to attend with the rest. He didn't know if he could keep himself composed for long enough.  
The journey didn't take long, but to the two adults sat in the front seat of the car, it felt like an eternity. They hadn't visited enough. They were both certain of that, and they didn't try and make excuses to justify this fact either. It was just the truth; they didn't visit Steve's grave enough. But today, they had both been sure that they would go. They had to. Especially today.  
It was a year. A whole year since he was gunned down on the steps of the courthouse before Laura's eyes. A year since she had seen the last light of beautiful life flicker out of her husband's eyes. A year since he had left her and his own son on their own.  
"You okay?" Bucky asked as the parked the car and sat staring at the graveyard.  
Laura found herself unable to speak, and so just nodded in response, trying to stop tears from flowing out of her eyes.  
She got out of the car alone, and left Bucky to take Jamie in to the graveyard. Laura knew exactly where his grave was; had retraced these steps many times in her dreams. The white marble loomed before her, and seemed to stand out more than the rest. His name was engraved in black on the cold stone, and underneath was a carving of his shield. All around the grave were an assortment of flowers, messages and, strangely, action figures that admirers of the Captain had left there in memory of him.  
"Hi, Steve…" she whispered, feeling a warm tear trickle down her cheek. "It's been a while since I last spoke to you, and I'm really sorry about that. Things have got a bit tough. Jamie's doing fine; he's finally speaking a few words, and he's trying to walk! We miss you though." Laura managed to choke out the last few words, before she sank to her knees and placed her hand on his tombstone and bowed her head, allowing her tears to fall on a bunch of red tulips. "I love you." She whispered to the stone. "I always have, from the moment I saw you in Stark Tower for the first time, I loved you. I always have and I always will." She felt her voice waver. "I love you." She whispered again. "I miss you so much."


	7. Chapter 7: A New Beginning

**A/N  
Replies to reviews:  
Candycrum: I'm flattered!  
**

 **Also this chapter takes place during the most recent episodes of Agents of S.H.I.E.L.D. as well as the next one... if you don't watch it, dn't worry, just treat it like another plot point that I made up when I was bored at work and brainstorming ideas instead of working...  
Enjoy!  
~TTB**

 _Six months later_

"Laura, can you do me a favour and accompany FitzSimmons to the ATCU please?" Coulson asked Laura as he caught up to her walking Jamie down the corridor towards the kitchen. Coulson looked mad. Very mad.  
"Sure. Who will be on the base to look after Jamie? And when are we leaving?" Laura questioned immediately, as Jamie ran as fast as he could to hug Coulson's leg.  
"Hey there little guy!" Coulson laughed, as he ruffled the toddler's hair. "They're leaving in about an hour, and I believe Koenig will be staying on the premises, so you don't need to worry about that. Those two _adore_ each other."  
Laura nodded, and an hour later she was in her jumpsuit sat in the back of a van with FitzSimmons conversing in avid detail about something sciencey that Laura did not want to ask about for fear of her head imploding from all the long fancy words. Still, it was nice to spend time with people who shared more or less the same accent as her.  
Laura had never visited the ATCU before, and, she had to say, she was unimpressed. It seemed gloomy, lifeless. She walked three paces behind FitzSimmons, preferring to leave them to whatever they were talking about. When they stopped dead, she knew something was wrong.  
Their guide, she couldn't remember his name, had just shot the agents around them, and then had shot himself, after shouting "it's not me!" Laura started to heat up her hands, ready for anything, when she felt someone reach inside her pocket, and pull out her icer. She turned around, flames now actively flickering around her palms, and was met with Grant Ward, who smiled, the shot her with the icer in the exact same spot on her neck where a real bullet had pierced her skin and killed her years ago. The last thing Laura saw before blacking out was the face from her nightmares smiling down at her, mixed with shouts from Fitz and Simmons.

* * *

"Ms. Stark."  
The familiar voice pierced through Laura's peaceful unconsciousness, and she came to, feeling dazed for a few moments, then locking eyes with her murderer and her head cleared as she glared at the older man.  
"What the hell, Ward?" she spat.  
"My my, you are very touchy this evening." Ward tutted, circling her with his hands behind his back.  
"Wouldn't you be, if you were being held against your will by your, and your spouses, murderer?" Laura snapped.  
"I suppose so." Ward said, far too casually for Laura's liking. "So, I assume you know nothing about the alien portal?"  
Laura frowned, and shook her head; yes, she had been _told_ what had happened to Simmons several months ago, but she had never really understood what had actually happened on the planet. "All I know is what I've been told by Fitz, and that mostly went over my head." She admitted to her former friend.  
He nodded thoughtfully, still circling her like a Hawk would its prey.  
"What's this all about, Ward?" she asked again. Her curiosity overtook her fear and she sat up straight, hoping to get a proper answer.  
"I might as well tell you; FitzSimmons know… we're going to reopen the portal to the alien world, and bring the creature that lives there back. The only problem is…"  
"You don't know how to get back." Laura cut across, suddenly understanding.  
"Yes." Ward muttered.  
"Then why do you need me? Why aren't I dead?" Laura asked, suddenly confused; she was no good when it came to science and maths, and Ward knew it.  
"I have discovered that you have been gifted with powers?" Ward asked, and Laura nodded her head slowly to confirm this. "I want you to accompany us on the mission to the planet. You can be our protection. And if you decide to stay behind, who's gonna protect little Fitzy when he's stuck there all alone with big bad Grant Ward?"  
Laura clenched her teeth, and thoughts of her dying and leaving her son alone came into her mind; she _couldn't_ leave him… but, at the same time, Laura thought of Fitz travelling alone with Ward on a desolate barren landscape. If she wasn't there, Fitz didn't stand a chance in hell of getting safely back.  
"And what's to stop me melting through my 'cuffs, burning you and your men to hell and getting myself, and FitzSimmons, the hell out of here?" Laura spat at him.  
"Well, then little Jamie will suddenly find himself with a bullet in his skull, and mommy will be to blame." Ward said, with a sadistic smirk on his face.  
" _You wouldn't dare!"_ Laura shouted at him, fighting against her handcuffs desperately.  
"Do you really think I wouldn't?"  
Laura stopped struggling and sighed for a moment. "Fine, I'll go. But, just one thing; if either of us die, just know that not only Coulson, but also the entire might of the Avengers will be all over your arse. And what will your pistol be against Iron Man? You would never see Clint's arrow coming if it pierced your _skull_. And Natasha? Do you really think you'd stand a chance of even screaming when she gets her hands on you?"  
Ward glared, then turned on his heel and strutted away. As soon as his back was turned, the agents who had been guarding her from behind walked forward and roughly untied her and pushed her to her feet. She was walked down several corridors until they reached their destination. It was only after they reached their destination did Laura realise where they were; the architecture? The skies in contrast to the time? _England_. A medieval castle. And, judging by the fact that it was December and it wasn't _bloody freezing_ , they were in the South.  
There was a sudden scuffle of feet, and Simmons emerged from another entrance, and Fitz from another. The three of them were pushed together and surrounded by five armed guards.  
Simmons looked bad. Really bad.  
"Are you okay?" asked Laura immediately, a military mindset kicking in as she started scanning Simmons' body for signs of serious injuries.  
"I-I'm fine." She muttered quietly, her teeth chattering in the December air. They continued this way for a few minutes, checking Simmons over, trying to clean the wounds she had, and quietly speaking about possible exit routes before it was too late.  
They knew for sure they were out of time when Ward emerged through the entrance that Laura had been dragged through, wearing camouflage gear and holding a cap in his hand.  
"Not a good look on you, Ward." Laura stated, glaring at him.  
"I don't suppose death was a very good look on your husband either." He retaliated, and Laura lost it. She charged at him, pulling out twin knives from a hidden pouch on her thigh, and started cutting through Hydra soldiers like they were butter. They fell instantly, none fighting back. A significantly stronger soldier who Laura didn't see grabbed her and forced her back before she could reach Ward, who was just standing there, chuckling.  
"Let's get this show on the road." He said, and Laura was pushed forwards to meet him and Fitz by the edge of the portal. Ward nodded to some scientist, and he turned to unleash the portal on them. The room started to move and shake, and the blocks of rock that were placed inside the circle where the portal was to be seemed to melt into one whole liquid, moving and vibrating as it sloshed around.  
Several soldiers wearing the same gear as Ward suddenly started fearlessly jumping in the portal, and Ward was shouting things at the Laura couldn't quite hear, so she just kept her eye on Fitz and Simmons as they looked on, same as her, terrified.  
Ward walked towards Laura and Fitz, and placed goggles into both of their hands.  
"Cheer up." He said to Fitz. "It's a new beginning for both of us."  
"Just get me back to my son." Laura answered for him, then fearlessly leapt into the portal.


	8. Chapter 8: The Planet

Wind whipped around Laura's face, her hair was everywhere, and she could feel rough alien sand hit her face from every direction. She shoved sand goggles over her eyes and glasses, which helped her vision slightly, considering her glasses were compiling tumultuous amounts of sand in the rims. From what she could see, the planet was a desolate, barren wasteland with jagged cliffs and rocks in every direction she looked. Laura staggered forwards, and bumped straight into Fitz. They grabbed onto each other for support, and crouched low and waited for the storm to blow over, which took around 20 minutes.  
Once the storm had blown over, they were harshly pushed forwards by Ward, and they started their trek through the desert like terrain towards the next portal. After what seemed like forever Fitz stopped and checked his tablet for a second.  
"Is something wrong?" Ward asked instantly. "Fitz?" he sighed for a second, and instructed some of his soldiers to go ahead and scout a ridge. Laura folded her arms and stood near Fitz as he walked forward, almost in a daze, and glaring at Ward. "We have less than six hours before the portal opens and we can go home."  
"Why don't you _shut the hell up_ so I can concentrate?" Fitz snapped back at him. "This program's work-in-progress thanks to Simmons' _limited_ data and hypothetical calculations." He turned to face Ward and Laura. "See? Our exit location is determined by the position of-"  
"Just figure it out!" Ward cut across him.  
Fitz lunged forwards suddenly and tried to grab Ward's gun. Ward grabbed his hand away and threw him down the dune they were standing on. He rolled down and Laura cried out, following Ward as he ran after Fitz down the dune.  
"You twat!" She shouted at Ward as he harshly pulled Fitz up off the ground and did something Laura couldn't see that made him scream in pain.  
"Let me be clear; if I don't make it back, Simmons will be killed. Painfully, horribly. Is that what you want?"  
"What do _you_ want?" Fitz asked. "Why are we here? To find some ancient mythical creature? Wake up, Ward! The only reason Malik sent you is because you're expendable."  
There was a sudden shout calling Ward away, and Laura and Fitz followed him as he walked towards a cliff edge.  
"What is that?" Laura breathed from next to Fitz.  
They were staring at an ancient, half buried statue of the familiar Hydra octopus with a circle around it. It was ginormous, and it struck terror right into Laura's core as she continued to stare at it.  
"Hail Hydra." Was all Ward said.

* * *

They continued on for an age after that, across mountains, through valleys and around lakes in silence. It was only when they were passing through the bottom of a valley that someone finally spoke up again.  
"Hey, here's a great idea; why don't we go to an alien world and summon a hellbeast?" Fitz mocked. "Yeah, that's a brilliant idea! What could possibly go wrong with that? How _are_ you supposed to find it?" he asked, turning to Ward.  
"Not your concern." He said.  
"Do you just whisper its name three times into a mirror?" Laura asked.  
"Or do you put a saucer of milk outside the door at night?" Fitz chimed in, and they both giggled together for a moment.  
"Not milk." Ward assured.  
"Ah, yes, you're right! Simmons said it could smell blood!" Fitz said sarcastically.  
"That's not disturbing _at all_." Laura muttered.  
"Who wouldn't want to be on that team?" Fitz agreed, as he checked his tablet again. "Er… I _think_ that's the ridge we're looking for." He said, gesturing with his head upwards towards a large ridge that loomed out at them. He walked backwards with his eyes still focused on his tablet. "You know, Simmons said it can drive you crazy."  
"You're doing a pretty good job of that yourself!" Ward shouted back at him, annoyed. Laura rolled her eyes at him and walked towards Fitz. He looked around for a second, and noticed a hatchway, which he kicked and the hollow metallic sound caught Ward's attention.  
"What's that?" he asked as he started to march towards the pair.  
"That's an interesting question… I thought I might check!" Fitz said hurriedly, and opened the hatchway and jumped in, Laura hot on his heels.  
They landed inside a cave, Fitz on the floor and Laura just managing to stay on her feet.  
" _Hello?"_ Fitz shouted. " _Will?"_  
"Who the hell is Will?" Laura shouted after Fitz as he continued into the cave. Just in front of them were two camp beds, and in one was a distinctly human shaped lump.  
"Hey? Hey? Will?" Fitz called as he hurried towards the figure. The man snapped up, and revealed a bearded man with short, unkempt hair and a bemused, sleepy look on his face.  
"You're Fitz?" he asked.  
"Yeah." Fitz confirmed.  
There was a sudden thud as Ward entered the cave, and also landed on his feet. Fitz put a finger to his lips and got up to defend Will. Laura went behind him, and started to look Will over for wounds.  
"I warned you!" Ward shouted vindictively, marching towards Fitz with a gun aimed at his head.  
"Wait!" Both Fitz and Laura shouted at him.  
"Who the hell's this?" Ward asked, noticing Will still lying on the bed.  
"This is Will. Okay? He's going to be our guide." Fitz explained.  
Ward said nothing for a second, before grabbing Fitz and pushing him into the grasp of a soldier behind him. A soldier from behind Laura that she hadn't noticed grabbed her and pulled her away as Ward moved towards Will and placed his gun to the back of Will's head.  
" _You can't do this!"_ Fitz shouted at Ward, fighting against the man restraining him. " _Ward, listen to me! You can't kill him!_ "  
"Fitz, you didn't follow my instructions!" Ward shouted back.  
" _But I did! I did, that's why we're here! We're all dead without him!_ You told me to identify the exit point _, which I can do_ , but only that man there, the one _you want to kill_ can get us there in time!"  
Ward took the gun away and circled Will thoughtfully. He looked at the patch sewn onto Wills uniform in curiosity. Laura couldn't see what it was, however as her glasses were dangerously close to falling off her face.  
"So how long have you been here?" Ward asked Will.  
"Feels like forever." He replied.  
Ward nodded, and gestured to the bed next to Will's. "So you're how Simmons managed to survive all those cold nights, huh?" Ward tried to hand his gun to Fitz. "Maybe you want to pull the trigger?" he asked Fitz.  
"Grow _up_ , Ward." Fitz muttered.  
"Can you walk on that leg?" Ward asked Will, pointing at his bloodied leg that Laura was about to examine before he had so rudely interrupted. Will nodded, and Laura and Fitz were let go. They both immediately walked towards Will, and Laura crouched immediately to have a closer look.  
"What happened?" She asked, securing his dressing with extra that were roughly shoved into her arms.  
"I got attacked after Jemma left." Will said, pulling his trouser leg out of Fitz's eyeline so he could view the bandages.  
"You saved her. She made it out; now we're here to bring you back." Fitz explained, moving out of Laura's way slightly.  
"I can leave?" Will asked hopefully. "really?"  
"Yeah. Yeah, we're all gonna leave." Fitz reassured, glimpsing at Ward slightly and throwing him a look.  
"You said you were attacked. By what?" Ward asked, moving closer.  
"It." Was all Will said.  
"So you know how to find 'it'?" Ward asked.  
"Why would you wanna do that?" Will asked, frowning.  
"I brought it a gift!"  
"We should go." Fitz interjected, and Laura quickly secured the fresh bandages and stood to help Fitz prop Will up.


	9. Chapter 9: Sacrifices

Will lead them for what seemed like ages across the terrain. It was beautiful, in a way. The landscape seemed picturesque, despite the desolate feel to it.  
The three walked ahead of the others, Fitz and Laura on either side of Will to catch him if he fell.  
"Can you run?" Fitz asked in a quiet voice.  
"I don't know, why?" Will replied.  
"Ward works for the same people who brought you over here." Fitz tried to explain. "They've been sending people over for centuries."  
"Sacrifices…" Will muttered.  
"Their real agenda is to find the creature and bring it back." Laura said.  
"Ward found a way to bring it back?" Will asked hastily, a glimpse of fear in his eyes.  
"No, I did. To get Simmons back. Ward's just the Hydra idiot who hijacked it." Fitz said.  
"Hydra… that's an old name." Will said, a hint of confusion in his voice.  
"Yeah, they're still at it." Laura said.  
"Cut off one head, and… blah blah blah blah blah…" Fitz muttered, in an attempt to be funny. "I didn't know I was doing something they'd been working on for centuries."  
There was a small pause, before Will spoke up. "You're bleeding." He said, pointing to a cut on Fitz's head that he had insisted Laura did not patch up.  
"Yeah, so are you." Fitz stated, pointing to Will's leg. "I've already run a dozen scenarios in my head, wondering what it would be like when we finally met… there's a lot more blood, and I never considered the smell…"  
"Fitz!" Laura half scolded.  
"I can see why Jemma loves you." Will said.  
"The good news is, Ward needs us alive." Laura hastily changed the subject. "Fitz is the only one who can read the data and get us to the extraction point. We just have to try and find a way to lose him before we get to the exit."  
"Follow my lead." Will whispered to the two.  
They stopped dead, and were immediately approached by Ward. "What's the hold up?" he asked.  
"There's no hold up, we just need to make it through that canyon." He explained, pointing towards the most dangerous canyon Laura had ever seen in her life.  
"Are you sure?" Ward asked nervously.  
"That's the only way to make it in time."  
Ward nodded slowly. "Alright… lead on."

* * *

It took a little over an hour to get across the precarious canyon. When they were across, Ward made Will walk beside him for a while, so Laura and Fitz walked ahead, exchanging small talk and attempting to make jokes about their situation.  
After a while, the winds started to pick up, whipping Laura's hair around her face more than ever as she tried to shelter her eyes and glasses.  
"It's gonna be a bad one!" Will shouted. Fitz ad Laura stopped to wait for him, and Fitz tried to hand over his goggles. "I'm used to it."  
"Simmons told me about an area called the no-fly zone… you're leading us there, aren't you?" Laura asked, pulling on her goggles.  
"We're already in it. Stay close." Will said, placing a hand on Fitz's shoulder.  
The winds started picking up even more, and the entirety of the small group took shelter behind a large rock.  
"I don't have time for this!" Ward shouted at them from his position.  
From where Fitz and Laura sat, Will suddenly emerged from behind another rock, holding a knife. He nodded at them, and Fitz turned to the soldier next to him.  
"Hey, I think we took a wrong turn! This is-" but the rest of his sentence did not matter, as Laura had already put a bullet in his thigh, and Will had knocked him unconscious.  
Fitz looked up at him, alarmed.  
"You said they were going to kill us… you got a better idea?"

* * *

"Is your leg gonna be okay?" asked Fitz. They were so close to the portal now. According to Fitz's tablet, it was less than half a mile.  
"I don't really feel it." Will admitted. "The portal's just over this rise."  
"It's gonna be close, but I think we're gonna make it." Fitz told them.  
Laura let out a small sigh of relief, as images of being reunited with Jamie flashed through her mind.  
"Jemma's going to be really happy to see you." Fitz said forcibly.  
"This must be really difficult for you." Will guessed sympathetically.  
"Getting you off this godforsaken planet is all that matters." Fitz said.  
They approached the top of a cliff, and risked a look over the top. Below was the wasteland of a once great city, with skyscrapers still barely standing in the distance and not a soul in sight.  
"Jemma never told me there was an ancient civilisation here!" Fitz exclaimed, walking forwards a few paces to get a better look.  
"She never saw it. We're still in the no fly zone." He explained as both Fitz and Laura took out their phones to take pictures. Will continued on without them, and after thirty seconds of taking more photos and a selfie, they ran to catch up.  
"What else do you know about the ancient city?" Laura asked as she caught up. "What happened to it?"  
Will didn't got the chance to answer, however, because he tripped over something Laura couldn't quite see, and fell.  
"Whoa, whoa… let me fix that." Fitz said, helping Will to a rock so he could sit down.  
"There used to be nine cities on this planet. The beings who lived there were very advanced. But, they feared change, they were easily divided. They warred among themselves, destroyed their entire race.  
"You seem to know a lot about them." Laura asked curiously, standing away from the other two for a second and folding her arms.  
"They had a chance to become something great, something beautiful, but… in the end…"  
"How do you know so much abo…" fitz's sentence was cut off as he pushed up Wills trouser leg to reveal a wound so deep they could see half of his bone.  
"Because I was there." Will said simply.  
"You're not Will." Fitz exclaimed.  
"No. Will died saving Jemma… from me."  
Fitz reached behind him for his bag at the same time as Laura felt her body start to heat up. Will walked forwards, unaware of Laura approaching him from behind with her palms on fire, and kicked Fitz down the ledge.  
Distracted, Laura let her fires burn out, as she shouted out, hoping to get a response.  
Fitz got up and ran, Will giving chase, and Laura equally giving chase to him. In a matter of seconds, Will tackled Fitz to the ground, and was pounding his fists into Fitz's stomach. Laura backed away, trying to get a better angle so that she could try and hit Will with some firepower. Fitz stumbled away for a few seconds, and Laura grabbed her chance; sending two balls of fire into Will's stomach, temporarily knocking him out.  
From above, Laura saw two men fighting on the ledge they had just come down from. As they slowly made their way towards them, Laura recognised them as Coulson and Ward… _Coulson? How the hell did he get here?_  
As they watched, only Fitz noticed Will struggle to his feet and stagger towards the portal that had opened a few feet from where they were without them noticing. He reached behind him once again, and emptied all the bullets of a gun lying nearby into Will's back. He just kept walking towards the portal.  
"How the hell?" Laura breathed, watching Will continue, albeit slower, towards that damn portal. Fitz didn't answer, and frantically rummaged around in his bag for something that Laura couldn't see. He suddenly pulled out a flare gun and pointed it at Will.  
"On my count, you use your powers to make the amount of power going towards him from the gun ten times stronger, got it?" Fitz asked, aiming the gun at Will. Laura nodded, and quickly heated up her body and started to create balls of fire in her palms.  
"GO!" Fitz shouted, and shot the gun. Laura threw both of her fireballs at the same time, and controlled them so they joined with the bullet from the gun, and hit Will squarely on the back. He fell, his body starting to burn away like paper and ash, until he was almost unrecognisable as a human being.  
"COULSON! THE PORTAL'S CLOSING!" Fitz shouted at Coulson on the ledge, who was standing over Ward.  
"What's he doing?" Laura muttered under her breath at Fitz, who looked her, equally confused, and shook his head.  
"IT'S FINSISHED! LEAVE HIM, LET'S GO!" Fitz shouted again.  
"COULSON, COME ON! WE HAVE TO GO!" Laura joined in.  
There was silence from Coulson, and Laura's jaw dropped when he saw Ward go limp and Coulson get up and walk away from his body.  
Coulson started to run towards them and the portal, and shouted at them to run as well. Laura ran. Faster than she had ever run in her whole life. Thoughts of seeing Jamie again, and Bucky, hell, even her goddamn father crossed her mind as she got closer and closer to the portal, the jumped in, ready to go to sleep.  
She was greeted with Mack and Daisy on the other side, Daisy clinging onto Mack, barely conscious, and both holding machine guns. Seconds later, Fitz and Coulson joined, and the five jumped into a containment pod, and were flown safely away from the castle.

* * *

As soon as she got out of the pod, Laura was greeted with a one-armed hug from a man with a metal arm with a toddler perched on the other. She beamed as soon as she saw her son, and took him out of Bucky's arms, stood him up on the ground and gave him the biggest hug she could manage without falling asleep.  
"You okay?" Bucky asked her, pulling her into a proper hug as well.  
"I will be." Laura answered truthfully. "Once I've had a shower, a cup of tea and a damn good nap."


	10. Chapter 10: Bullet Wounds

**A/N**

 **I'm so sorry.**

"How're you doing?" asked Laura softly, walking towards Fitz and Simmons as they pretended to work in the lab.  
"Not bad… coping." Simmons replied, smiling up at her.  
It had been ten days since they had returned from the planet, and Laura was surprisingly okay. She had had more cups of tea in the middle if the night than ever before; somehow the occasional nightmares she had been having had drastically increased in the last few days, which meant her waking up at three a.m. most nights to charred and smoking bedsheets. But that was all. And Laura didn't exactly count the nightmares as anything serious anymore. It was just a given with the life she led.  
"Do you have any more information about where Malik went? Known accomplices? Passport usage?" Laura asked; finding Malik was next on her agenda.  
"I do have one known acquaintance that could be a potential lead, but it's a long shot… he died in 2012." Fitz spoke up, typing something into his computer, and pulling up a mugshot of a man with black hair and the most psychopathic smile Laura had ever seen.  
"Jesus… who's Freddy Krueger over here?" she asked.  
"The only name I can find for him is 'Moriarty', but it doesn't give me any more info… all redacted by MI5."  
Laura nodded for a second, before having a brainwave.  
"Hang on, do you have known acquaintances or persons of interest associated with him? I have a contact in London that might have come across him in the past." She asked, and Fitz immediately went to work, and pulled up an unnaturally short list; among the unfamiliar names were two that Laura recognised; Sherlock Holmes and John Watson.  
"That's them" she told the pair, pointing at their names on the screen. She smiled slightly, remembering the first time she had met them, and how it hadn't _exactly_ gone to plan… but, then again, she was the one who stormed out.  
Laura ran a stressed hand through her hair, then made a move towards the door.  
"Where are you going?" Fitz asked.  
"To get permission to fly over… and a pilot." She replied.  
"Wait, you've been with S.H.I.E.L.D. how long? And you _still_ don't know how to fly a plane?" Simmons asked playfully.  
"I've been here just as long as you two… why haven't _you_ learnt?" Laura answered, folding her arms and raising her eyebrow. When neither could give her a legitimate answer, Laura just laughed and continued on.

* * *

It took some persuading, but in less than an hour, Laura was on a quinjet with Daisy, Lincoln and Bobbi.  
In that time, Laura had called John to let him know they were coming, but she doubted Sherlock paid attention. He never seemed to listen whenever John told him something important. He just kept on talking. But, from all the few experiences she'd had with Sherlock, that seemed to be his personality.  
The journey to London was surprisingly short, and before Laura knew it, they were cruising towards Baker Street in a car MI5 had sent.  
Laura had never actually been to the residence of Sherlock Holmes; their various meeting had always been in a pre-planned location (usually planned by Laura and John) for security purposes. She was almost excited to see what kind of state it was in.  
"Before we get there, just a quick word of warning; Sherlock is the most arrogant prick you'll ever meet in your entire life, if you see him staring avidly at you at any point, he's just trying to analyse the shit out if you, so I wouldn't worry. He's mostly harmless." Laura warned, her previous experience with the two finally being useful in some way. Daisy gave her a weird look, but didn't get the chance to reply as they drove up to the curb outside 221B Baker Street.  
Laura exited the car first, and adjusted her cream trench coat which concealed her jumpsuit and weapons. She led them up the steps, but she hadn't reached the top step before a short, auburn haired man had opened the door, beaming.  
"Laura!" he called, and rushed towards her to pull her into a hug. "I was so sorry to hear about Steve. How are you coping?" he asked softly, so the ones behind them couldn't hear.  
"Barely." Laura confessed. "These are Agents Johnson, Morse and Campbell. We're here to get some possible leads about a guy we're tracking."  
John waved at them all, nodded at the information he already knew, then invited them inside.  
"Mrs Hudson?" He called down a corridor. "Can you make some tea? We've got important guests!"  
" _Not your housekeeper!_ " a voice shouted back, and Laura chuckled, before following John upstairs towards the flat.  
"Sherlock? Laura's here!" John shouted as they entered. There was silence for a moment, then a man appeared behind Daisy without making a sound.  
"Agent Stark!" He exclaimed, making Daisy squeak and almost jump out of her skin in fright. Laura bit her tongue to stop herself from laughing aloud, and crossed across the room to give him a hug.  
"How are you?" she asked, smiling up at him.  
"Same as ever." He replied. "So, what can we do for you?"  
"We're trying to track down a known Hydra leader, and, from what we can discover, one of his known associates is something, or someone, called 'Moriarty'. We wondered if you knew the name and could help us." Bobbi explained.  
Sherlock and John exchanged looks of alarm at the mention of Moriarty.  
"What? What do you know?" Laura asked immediately, noting the looks on their faces.  
"When it comes to Moriarty, things tend to get complicated." John said, avoiding Laura's eye.  
"What can you tell us?"

* * *

It took a while, but soon they knew all they could about Moriarty's operations. It seemed that his network was incredibly vast, and would take years to unravel the entirety, but for now they were only focused on one thing; a small warehouse in Scotland had recently been purchased by Malik through Moriarty that had been abandoned until purchase about 18 months ago. Coulson had been informed, and was flying over as soon as possible, and until he arrived with a team of Agents, Daisy was putting her hacking skills to good use; trying to get into their communications feed.  
"Does anyone want a drink?" Laura asked, getting up from Sherlock and John's sofa and heading towards the kitchen.  
From the Americans, there was a chorus of 'coffee', and Laura rolled her eyes.  
"We don't actually have coffee." John informed, smiling when their faces dropped in horror.  
"Welcome to the UK." Laura said, laughing in glee. "It's tea or nothing."  
The three Americans accepted the tea anyway, and sipped away, scowling into their mugs as John and Laura looked on, shaking with silent laughter.  
"I- I've got something." Daisy suddenly spoke, her voice suddenly quiet and petrified.  
"What?" Laura asked immediately, striding across the room to look at her computer screen.  
"Steve- Captain Rogers… his tracker's back online… the signal's coming from the warehouse."

* * *

"It's got to be a hoax." Coulson said the moment he found out. "It has to be… we all saw him die."

"But how do we explain the embedded tracker in his ankle being reactivated?" Daisy asked.

"That tracker was only placed there after he surrendered as a precaution. It was experimental technology! It could have been activated any number of ways." Fitz butted in.

"Then why hasn't it activated before now?" Daisy retaliated.

"And how does that explain it being in a warehouse in Scotland?" Lincoln chimed in.

They had only been on the plane for ten minutes and they were already arguing. Sherlock and John had said their goodbyes, promising to call more often, and the plane was now en-route to Scotland, which particularly pleased Fitz.

Laura, like Coulson and most of the agents, was in complete and utter denial over the tracker. She didn't want to risk getting her hopes up to have them crushed once again. She decided to leave them to it in the end, and retired to her bunk on the new plane to freshen up. The journey took less than an hour, and soon they were in tactical suits and making their way through the Highlands. Fitz, who was in the same van as Laura, was practically bouncing in his seat, and spurting facts about the place in Scotland where he grew up.

They parked the vans a mile away from the site, and split off into teams so they could cover more ground when infiltrating the base. Laura, Lincoln and Daisy formed a team quickly, and made it to their nearest entrance without detection.

"So past this door is a corridor that goes through most of the building. From what I can tell, it's heavily guarded."

The two younger agents nodded in understanding, then stood back to let Laura melt the lock and kick the door open.

It thudded to the ground, and Laura crept in with the others behind her. According to her earpiece, Coulson's team had just entered the building as well.

Then, gunfire. Laura sped down the corridor at full speed with the others hot on her heels, Daisy using her powers to create an energy shield to protect them from behind.

Laura rounded another corner, Daisy and Lincoln right behind her as they approached a cross section in the corridor.

She started to bark out instructions as they got closer "Daisy, left; Lincoln, right. I'll stay on this…" she was cut off as she ran straight into a tall, muscular man with golden blonde hair, sparkling crystal blue eyes and wearing a white bloodstained hospital gown.

Laura jumped back into an instinctive defensive position, before dropping her stance to stare up into his face.

She could feel herself starting to unwind as her entire slim frame started to shake. Her fingertips felt hot, as those blue eyes, eyes she hadn't stared into for so long, stared disbelievingly into hers.

"No way…" she heard Daisy mutter from behind her.

Laura shakily reached for the golden band around her finger and slowly handed it backwards to Daisy, who pocketed it immediately, knowing what was coming.

"Laura?" Steve asked, stepping forwards slightly. Laura immediately flinched away, and closed her eyes to block out his sparkling eyes from clouding her judgement.

She only spoke one word.

"Duck."

Then she exploded.


	11. Chapter 11: Miss Missing You

**A/N**

 **Review replies:**

 **candycrum: he is indeed! Hope you enjoyed the twist!**

 **Daughter of Ironman06: prepare for _that_ argument... there's going to be several over the next few** chapters!

Over half of the building had been levelled. The only reason Daisy, Lincoln and Steve weren't dead was because Daisy had nearly killed herself manipulating the fire to stay away from the three of them.  
Laura had passed out the moment the blast ended, her fire-proof suit charred but ultimately undamaged.  
S.H.I.E.L.D. had moved in and captured all the agents they could, but most, including it seemed Malik, had perished.  
Laura was recovering in her room at the Playground, and Steve was being prepared to be quizzed. He wouldn't rest until he had been reassured by Coulson that Laura was safe and unharmed.  
There was a knock on Laura's door and she snapped awake.  
"Yeah?" she asked groggily, rubbing her eyes.  
The door opened and Coulson walked in, smiling at the sight of Laura looking healthy.  
"Have you questioned him yet?" she asked, sitting up and pushing a few short strands of hair out of her face.  
"No… we wanted to wait and see if you wanted to watch?" he asked, walking over and taking a seat by her bed.  
"Sure… is he hooked up to the lie detector?" Laura asked, getting up, throwing on some clothes and tying her hair back in a short ponytail.  
"Koenig's doing it now." Coulson replied, keeping his eyes on the door as Laura marched to her bathroom and started to brush her teeth.  
"Do you think it's really him?" she asked almost inaudibly, before spitting out the toothpaste and washing out her mouth.  
"I don't know… I can't be sure at the moment. You?" Coulson asked, standing as Laura slipped her icer into her pocket and walked towards the door.  
"It seems too good to be true." Laura said simply, walking briskly out of the door, Coulson following. "Where's Jamie?" She asked, realising she had been out for so long she hadn't collected him from Simmons.  
"Still with Simmons. Bobbi and her didn't mind taking shifts watching him." Coulson informed. "Although I think Daisy's got him at the moment."  
"Good." She said, as they approached the door to the interrogation room. Coulson pushed it open, and they slipped inside.  
Steve sat up immediately at the sight of his wife, but for some reason she wouldn't look at him. She barely spared him a glance as she and Coulson took a seat facing him.  
"This is a formal interrogation and interview for the Strategic Homeland Intervention Enforcement and Logistics Division. Sitting in is Agent Laura Stark and Director Phillip J Coulson. I will now ask you a few simple questions to establish your baseline. What is your full name?" Koenig gave Steve the full speech before asking the first question.  
"Steven Grant Rogers." Steve replied with ease.  
"Your date of birth?" Koenig asked.  
"The fourth of July 1918."  
"Please list your immediate family."  
"A wife, Laura, and a son, Jamie." Steve told, looking directly at Laura as he said this.  
Laura immediately looked away, thoughts of protecting Jamie clouding her judgement.  
"What is he difference between an egg and a rock?"  
"One tastes better than the other." Steve replied with a chuckle.  
"You wash up on a deserted island alone; sitting in the sand is a box. What is in that box?"  
"Depends on the island… do I have my shield?" Steve asked.  
"Just say the first thing that came into your head." Koenig replied.  
"Laura." Steve blurted. Laura felt herself tense at this, and frowned. Coulson briefly put his hand on hers to calm her.  
"What is your association with the Avengers?" Koenig asked, starting on the pre-prepared questions Coulson, Tony and Natasha had come up with a few hours ago.  
"I'm a founding member and I was leader until the war." Steve sadly replied.  
"What relationship do you have with Tony Stark?"  
Steve glared at his feet slightly. "He's my father-in-law and was a fellow Avenger. We also fought against each other in the war. I knew his father in the forties."  
"What is your association with the organisation known as S.H.I.E.L.D.?"  
Steve frowned for a moment and thought. "My wife is an agent, and I am a sort of consultant."  
"What is your association with the organisation known as Hydra?"  
Steve, again, had to think hard about this one. "They're the reason I'm here. They killed my best friend Bucky, and replaced him with a monster. They killed my future wife, then brainwashed her to be like Bucky. Everything I've ever, and will ever love in any capacity is always taken and moulded to hurt me the most by them. They're a sickness, a thorn in my side I can never get rid of. That I can never quite shake off."  
Laura looked at her feet, not daring to catch his eye.  
"Thank you, Captain Rogers. That will be all for now." Koenig said, and shut off the lie detector.  
Laura stood up immediately, still avoiding Steve's eye, and walked out.  
"Laura!" Steve shouted at her retreating figure, and made to go after her, but Coulson intercepted his path and shook his head. "What the hell is wrong with her? I thought she'd be happy!" Steve asked, annoyed.  
"She needs time. You've been gone for a long time, Steve. She'd grown accustomed to life without you, and to be thrust back into her old life with you must be a massive step for her to take. She- she's changed… in ways you can't possibly imagine."


	12. Chapter 12: More Than You Bargained For

**A/N**

 **Reviews:**

 **Daughter of Ironman06: Here are some of those conversations... it won't be pretty!**

 **candycrum: I hope you enjoy that talk!**

 **~TTB**

The days Laura spent avoiding Steve quickly blended into weeks, then, before anyone had noticed, a whole month had passed by without so much as a glance. The only consolation was Bucky had welcomed him back with open arms.

 _~ One month ago ~_

 _Steve walked down the corridor towards his new bunk with his head full of confusing thoughts.  
Why the _hell _is she ignoring me? I thought she'd be happy to see me. I thought she-  
Was that?  
Steve's thoughts were cut off as soon as he saw he metal arm and long hair.  
"Bucky?" he called, speeding up to a run as his old friend turned around to see him with- were those tears in his eyes?  
"Steve." He whispered, and ran forwards and pulled the man into a hug. "I'm so sorry." Bucky choked out, pulling away from the hug.  
"You don't need to apologise. Ever. Do not apologise to me for this. Do not feel like it was your fault. And _do not _try and convince me otherwise."  
"Thank you. I don't deserve it, but thank you." Bucky whispered, pulling Steve in for another, longer, hug._

Present Day

Steve had been called into the interrogation room on the new plane by Coulson. He had no idea why, but the tone of the memo he had received didn't bode well.  
When he reached the door, he knocked softly and entered, but nothing could have prepared him for what was inside.  
Coulson was in there, with his back to the door, talking to a man who had his hands casually shoved in his pockets, with a goatee, peppercorn black hair and an abnormally worried and slightly nervous look upon his face. Steve felt like he had been punched in the stomach when the man looked up, paled, and dropped his hands out of his pockets.  
"Stark?" he whispered.  
"Hey, Cap." Tony Stark said, awkwardly raising his hand in greeting.  
"Phil, what the hell?" Steve asked, turning away from his father in law.  
"I just want to talk… and give you something." Tony tried to explain still awkwardly.  
"Give me what?" Steve asked.  
Tony reached into his pocket and pulled out an envelope. It looked worn and weather-beaten, but, clearly, the contents remained intact.  
"Before you open it… I just want to say… I am sorry. Despite our differing opinions… and the fact that… yeah, I may have accidentally been the instigator of your death, I missed you. You're my friend. I'm so sorry."  
Steve didn't know what to say, so he resigned to just nodding, then shakily opened the letter.  
When he saw the contents, his breath caught in is throat, as a silver ring that matched his wife's slipped onto his palm.  
"Tony… where did you get this?" Steve said, his voice barely more than a whisper.  
"Laura kept hold of it for a while, then there was a fire, and I got it by a pure accident, but anyway… I thought you'd want it back."  
Steve only nodded again, and slowly slipped the ring back on the correct finger.  
"Why won't she speak to me? Why won't she let me see my son?" Steve asked without looking up.  
The two men in the room knew exactly what he was talking about, and neither quite knew what to say. She had confessed to Tony a week ago that she didn't know how she could be sure it was really him; lie detector tests can be deceived. Ward had done it with ease at one point, and Laura was incredibly worried about opening herself up once again to someone she couldn't trust.  
"I think she's worried about…" Phil started, but trailed off when his brain couldn't supply him with a reasonable excuse.  
"About _what_?" Steve pushed, folding his arms and raising his eyebrows.  
"She's not sure if she can trust you. She doesn't want to believe it's you because she doesn't want to risk you being under Hydra's influence." Tony explained.  
"What does she think? That I'm some Hydra soldier in one of those stupid masks?" Steve asked wildly, searching for reasons his wife could possibly have for ignoring him. "It's only been three months!"  
"It hasn't." Coulson butted in suddenly.  
"What do you mean?" Steve asked warily.  
"It hasn't been three months, that's what Hydra told you to throw you off." Coulson said, hanging his head. "I should have told you sooner, but I didn't know how."  
"How long has it been then?" he asked cautiously.  
"T- two years." Coulson muttered.  
"Two years? Two years… I missed _two years_ of my son's life? TWO YEARS. And my own wife won't let me see my son, who I haven't seen since he was born _TWO YEARS AGO_." Steve put his head in his hands and tried to comprehend this. Sure, he had had to deal with a time jump of seventy years before, but even a time jump as short as two years was hard to deal with. He had missed so much; Jamie's first steps, his first words… he never even got the chance to see him smile. "I need to try and talk to her."  
"I don't know how that'll be possible… she won't go near you." Tony stated the obvious.  
"If I call her in now, then we can lock the door until you two talk it out?" Coulson suggested, pulling out his phone.  
Steve shrugged and nodded, and looked away from the two whilst Coulson called Laura.

* * *

"I really don't know why you refuse to talk to him… he misses you." Bucky asked after almost a minute of awkward silence. He was sat with Laura in the nursery playing with Jamie, who was happily ignorant of the drama that surrounded him. In a way, Laura envied her small son.  
"I…" Her phone began to ring; Coulson. Saved by the bell. "Yeah?" she answered.  
" _Hi, Laura. Are you busy? I need to go through a few mission details with you. I'm sending you out in a couple of days. Can you meet me in the interrogation room on the plane?"_ Coulson asked from the other side of the line.  
"Funny place for that… what's wrong with your office?" Laura asked suspiciously.  
" _Classified. I can't say on the phone… too many ears listening."_  
Laura sighed. "Sure… I'll be over in a flash."  
"Who was that?" Bucky asked.  
"Coulson… I'm needed. Can I leave him with you?"  
"Sure. Have fun, Barry!" Bucky joked as she walked out.  
"What?" Laura asked, pausing and looking back at her friend, confused.  
"Barry Allen? The Flash? You said you'd be over 'in a flash…'" Bucky explained, trying not to lagh at Laura's sudden confusion.  
"You're hilarious." Laura said sarcastically, then left.  
As she walked, Laura tried to imagine what was so classified about the interrogation room… a new inhuman? Malik?  
She walked up the ramp to enter, tying her hair back in her usual short ponytail, and made her way towards the interrogation room.  
She knocked once on the cold metal door, then opened it slowly, unsure what would be behind it. When she didn't see anything, Laura took a cautious step inside, and as soon as her feet were over the threshold, the door slammed shut behind her.  
As soon as she saw him, Laura turned around and tried to get out.  
"Coulson, let me _out_ " she shouted at the door  
"Laura…" Steve said to her back, which was feverishly trying to open the door. "Laura, you have to speak to me eventually. What the hell did I do? Why are you ignoring me?"  
Laura spun around, her whole being glowing a pale gold. " _Why_ am I ignoring you? _Why did you ignore me when I was pregnant?_ You left me alone when I needed you the most. Did _I_ lock you in a room with me until you spoke to me? No. I waited _until you were ready_."  
"I…" Steve found himself lost for words.  
Laura looked at him expectantly for a moment, then turned around and continued to hammer on the door.  
"Coulson you know full well that if this door doesn't open in the next thirty seconds, I will burn it down!" She shouted, and, with a reluctant click, the door unlocked.  
"Laura, please…" Steve started, and grabbed her arm.  
" _Don't say another word!"_ Laura screamed at him, a burst of power flowing through her and Steve yanked his hand away, which was now red and sore.  
"What the hell?" Steve muttered, looking incredulously down at his hand, then back at her.  
" _You left me! You left me alone with a week old child that I had no idea how to care for properly. I needed you, and you left me. For two years._ " Laura finished, and stared at him for a moment. Her normally brown eyes suddenly an intense burning gold, glowing brighter in her anger. Then, she turned and left Steve standing, staring after her in awe, holding his burned hand in the other.


	13. Chapter 13: Shattered

**A/N**

 **Review replies:**

 **Daughter of Ironman06 - indeed he does!**

 **candycrum - emphasis on the word 'eventually' there... sorry!**

 **~TTB**

"Sk- Daisy… sorry about that! Can I have a word?" Steve asked, leaning against the door of the mess hall, a bandage around his injured hand.  
"Sure." Daisy said uncertainly, and followed him out and into the empty kitchen.  
"What the hell is wrong with my wife?" He asked the second he knew they were alone.  
"What are you talking about?" Daisy stalled.  
"I'm talking about how, when I tried to touch her arm, I ended up with a first degree burn!" Steve said plainly, trying not to sound threatening.  
"Oh… _that_." Daisy muttered, trying to think of an excuse to escape.  
"Yes. _That_." Steve echoed.  
"I don't really know what to say… it's not my secret to tell."  
"Just tell me this… is she like you now?" Steve asked, stopping her from walking out of the door.  
Daisy sighed, and gave a small nod, then strode out of the room.  
Steve let her pass, staring straight ahead, shell-shocked by what he had just heard. Firstly, how had Tony managed to screw up that badly that he didn't recognise he had slept with an alien and not realised? He must have been _really_ drunk. Second, if Laura has alien genes, then does that mean that their son had as well?  
Steve wondered about this for weeks, each night lying awake in for hours almost paranoid thought, wondering what the true extent of Laura's power was, what power his son could gain when going through the mist, just _how much_ had Laura really changed?  
He thought of asking Coulson some of these questions, but doubted the man knew any more than he did, and, even if he did try and ask, Coulson probably wouldn't tell him anything. Would Tony know? Doubtful. And, even so, that conversation would be _incredibly_ awkward. He had already tried asking Bucky, but he hadn't said anything.  
It had been four weeks since Steve's hand had healed with only a small scar remaining. He was sleeping alone in his bunk, and woke suddenly from a soft knock on the door.  
"Yeah?" He called drowsily, sitting up and rubbing his eyes.  
Bucky's head appeared from around the door, and gestured for Steve to follow. He rolled his eyes, but rolled out of bed and caught up to his friend, who had already reached the end of the corridor.  
"What the hell, Buck? Where are we going?" Steve whispered as they entered another empty corridor.  
"Just keep quiet. You'll see when you get there." Bucky muttered, and continued to walk in the direction of the kitchen.  
"Please tell me you didn't wake me up because you fancy a snack?" Steve hissed as they turned inside the kitchen.  
Bucky didn't reply, and instead continued on, passing straight through the kitchen without even a glance at the fridge, until he reached a wooden door on the other side of the large room.  
"What are we doing here?" Steve asked, exasperated.  
" _Can you be patient please_?" Bucky hissed. He swiped his ID on the door, and led Steve into a brightly coloured room with toys of all assortments stacked neatly against the walls. Then, in the corner, was a small boy sat, alone, playing with Captain America and Iron Man action figures.  
Steve felt his stomach drop as they boy looked around curiously at the two men that had entered, and set his eyes upon him. Steve looked into those eyes. His eyes.  
"Is that…?" He asked slowly, edging further into the room.  
"'Ucky!" the boy called at Bucky, who smiled and walked forward to say hello to the boy.  
"Hey, kid! I've got you a friend!" Bucky greeted, speaking in a soft tone that Steve hadn't heard him use since the '40s. "This is Steve! Steve, this is Jamie."  
Steve could feel himself start to shake as he took a step towards his son.  
"'Eve?" Jamie asked, walking to where Steve had crouched down, and reaching out to Steve's forehead.  
"Yeah…" Steve whispered.  
"Where Mommy, 'ucky?" Asked Jamie, moving away towards Bucky, who awkwardly smiled at the boy, staring innocently up at him.  
"Mummy's right here." Came an angry voice from behind them. Laura was stood in full tactical gear in the doorframe, and she was almost trembling with anger.  
"Laura…"  
"Captain, would you kindly get away from my son?" Laura said in the calmest voice she could.  
"Laura, he's my son as well." Steve said, matching Laura's tone but not moving away from the child sat behind him.  
" _Get out_."  
"Laura, c'mon…" Bucky interjected, stepping in between the two.  
"Don't say another word _James_. You can get out as well."


	14. Chapter 14: Starman

**A/N**

 **I'M SO SORRY THIS TOOK SO LONG  
Blane the A-Levels... or me... you can blame them both.  
Maybe you can blame Tumblr from keeping me away.  
Sorry...  
**

 **Review replies:  
**

 **ValkyrieReneStark: Aw thank you!  
Candycrum: Not in this chapter I'm afraid... SOON THOUGH!  
**

 **~TTB**

"Laura, I have a recon mission for you if you're up for it?" Coulson called from behind Laura as she walked her son down the corridor.  
"Why do I sense that I'm not going to like this?" She asked sceptically, looking at Coulson's anxious expression.  
"Because you won't, but you're the only one who might actually go through with it on this base."  
Laura sighed and followed Coulson to his office, Jamie running along in front of them both.  
Once inside and Jamie safely with Simmons in the labs, Laura folded her arms and raised an eyebrow.  
"We need you to go up to Asgard and find out what the situation with Loki is." Coulson spilled out quickly, looking at his feet as soon as he had spoken.  
" _What?!"_ Laura cried.  
"It's just for a day. You'll be with Thor and Lady Sif the whole time, and nothing will happen to you. You will be back in time for Jamie to wake up from his afternoon nap. I _promise_. I just need you to interrogate him and his guards to see what state he is in health-wise and psychologically speaking. Then I just need you to give Thor a piece of equipment that will help us contact him quickly if we need to, then you can leave."  
Laura sighed and ran her hands through her hair. "How long do I have to decide whether I want to go or not?"  
"About fifteen minutes." Coulson answered, once again guiltily looking at his feet.  
" _Fine_. I'll go suit up." Laura said, sounding oddly like an annoyed 14-year-old.  
Ten minutes later, Laura was strolling back into Coulson's office, hair tied back and wearing a scowl. She was greeted by a woman she did not know stood next to Coulson talking. She had long black hair, tied back in a ponytail and was wearing armour that marked her as Asgardian.  
"Agent Stark, this is Lady Sif of Asgard." Coulson introduced them as soon as he caught sight of her walking apprehensively inside the room.  
"Greetings, Lady Stark. I hope you are well?" Sif spoke, nodding her head in greeting.  
"I'm good, thank you. And please, call me Laura." Laura smiled at her. "So, when are we leaving?"  
"As soon as we can get to the roof. Unfortunately unless you wish for your building to stay intact, we will have to do it from there." Sif explained.  
Laura nodded slowly, and gestured for Coulson to lead the way.  
"How did you manage to contact her?" Laura whispered to Coulson, keeping an eye on Sif, walking a few paces behind them.  
"She owes me a few favours, and I gave her the same device I'm giving you to give to Thor whilst you're there. It sends a signal via some special channel that can get through the magic tree and reach Asgard. At least, that's what I could make out from all the sciencey stuff that Fitz was saying."  
Laura snorted, understanding exactly what Coulson was talking about; she hardly understood anything that Fitz- or Simmons, for that matter- were ever talking about.  
By the time their conversation had finished, they were on the roof, and Coulson was handing Laura a black cube, which, apparently, contained the communications device.  
"Be careful with this… Fitz will kill both of us if something happens to it and he has to make another one." Coulson warned, with a glint in his eye.  
"Nah, it'll be fine with me. See you later, I guess." Laura laughed, winked at Coulson, and walked to stand next to Sif.  
"Heimdall, when you're ready?" She shouted to the sky, and Laura felt like she had been thrust into a wind tunnel as some invisible force gripped her around the middle and pulled her up, skyrocketing like she was on a rollercoaster. All around her were incredible bright lights as far as her eyes could see, her hair was whipping around her neck behind her, and she felt a pang of disappointment as she saw the Bifrost come to an end.  
Her disappointment soon faded, however, because the sight she was greeted with never left her memory; the vast golden room shone with a grandeur that Laura had never witnessed before, and beyond the tall man stood in the middle, was an enormous city of gold, bigger than Laura thought possible.  
"You must be Agent Stark. Thor speaks highly of you." The man in the middle of the room stepped towards her and gave a small bow. "I am Heimdall, the Watchful Guardian."  
"Hi." Laura said, smiling at him, a little overwhelmed by everything.  
"I trust you know how to ride a horse?" Sif spoke from behind her.  
"I've only ever done it once, and I had help." Lara spoke the truth; when she was twelve, the orphanage had taken them to a zoo which happened to have a horse riding attraction.  
"You'll learn." Sif said, and led her towards two horses tethered to the doorway.  
Laura shakily got on top of the saddle, and soon they were galloping off at a speed that Laura was _not_ comfortable with, and were hurtling through Asgard. Laura didn't know where to look; the rainbow bridge they were galloping across, the structures that seemed _impossible_ in terms of gravity, the people on the streets below buying fruits and vegetables Laura had never seen before, and there were several people staring at her like she didn't belong. Of course, she knew she didn't; she must be alien to them, with customs and language as new and curious to them as they were to her.  
Before long, they had reached a vast hall and were dismounting their horses, and Laura was following Sif, who was strutting towards a doorway on the left of the hall. In the centre at the back, Laura could see a large golden throne high up on steps. It reminded her of the Iron Throne in Game of Thrones in a way, but she doubted anyone on Asgard would have made that connection. They entered a small antechamber with plush sofas on all sides of the room, a table in the middle with more food Laura had never seen before, and a man sat in a large armchair smiling widely as they walked in.  
"Lady Laura!" Thor beamed, and jumped up to hug her. "How wonderful to see you!"  
"Hi Thor, good to see you too!" Laura said, trying not to be choked by Thor's grip.  
"I wish it were not just a check on my brother that you have arrived here today." He said, looking down at his feet. "How is everyone?"  
"They're all good! Has anyone told you about St- the Captain yet?" Laura asked, unsure of whether Thor was aware of Steve's not-deadness. Laura had a feeling he had no idea when he bowed his head low.  
"I have indeed. I am so sorry for your loss."  
"Oh, no! He's alive!" Laura corrected, and Thor looked up in astonishment.  
"He is?"  
"Yes! I thought Phil told you, we found him on some Hydra base completely alive!"  
"That is splendid news indeed! You all must be thrilled!" Thor beamed.  
"I- well… I'm not here to talk about him." Laura said, suddenly feeling a strange pang of guilt. "Where is Loki?" she asked  
"Loki is being kept in one of the most secure of locations. If you will follow me, I shall take you there."  
Laura nodded, and followed him through so many corridors she lost count, all lined with glinting gold, until they reached a small door that was locked. Thor simply placed his hand on the side, the door seemed to recognise him, and they entered into the dungeons of Asgard.  
Laura tried her best not to look at the strange creatures locked in the various cells, she felt, for the first time in a while, somewhat timid at the sight of so many dangerous monsters in one place. They walked through three halls filled to the brim with prisoners, until they reached a set of double doors.  
"We are here." Thor muttered, and opened the doors for her.  
Inside was a single cell, much larger than the ones before, with fine furnishings and a man with long black hair pacing around it. He looked up at his visitors, and a smile twisted onto his lips.  
"A Human on Asgard? Tut tut Thor, what would the All-Father say to that?" Loki spoke, his voice sending shivers down Laura's spine.  
"Loki, I'm here to ask you a few questions so S.H.I.E.L.D. can have an updated reading on your wellbeing, both physically and psychologically." Laura said, moving closer, and pulling out a voice recorder.  
Loki frowned, but allowed Laura to continue.  
"I will ask you a few psycho-analytical questions first to establish your baseline. What is your full name?"  
"Loki Laufeyson."  
"Do you have any family?" Laura asked, careful not to look at Thor.  
" _No_."  
"What is the difference between an egg and a rock?"  
"One makes for a much more efficient weapon than the other." Loki smirked.  
Laura sighed and glared at him. "You wash up on a deserted Island alone-"  
"Why?" Loki interrupted.  
"I'm sorry?" Laura asked, raising her eyebrows pointedly at him.  
"Why am I on a deserted island?"  
"It is a hypothetical scenario designed to see what your mind automatically turns to. You don't need a backstory." Laura explained, glaring once again. "I shall restart the question. You wash up on a deserted island alone; sitting on the sand is a box. What is in that box?"  
"What kind of island?"  
" _Just answer the damn question._ "  
"I wouldn't need anything to help me get off the island. I am a weapon in myself, engineered by _Odin_ to keep the-"  
" _Loki_." Thor warned, stepping forward towards him.  
" _Fine._ My staff." He said sourly.  
"The one that killed my best friend and mentor?" Laura asked coldly.  
"The very same."  
"Fine. If you could wake up tomorrow with a new ability or power, what would it be?"  
"The power to escape and prison and kill who I pleased."  
 _'Oh Jesus'_ Laura thought to herself  
"What do you consider to be your greatest accomplishment in life?"  
"Killing 80 people in two days."  
"Okay, that's our psychological questions done. _Thank God_. I'm now just going to ask you a few health related questions, then I can get the hell out of here! On a scale of one to ten, one being the lowest and ten being the highest, how would you describe your general health?"  
"Nine."  
"How would you describe your physical condition?"  
"Are you coming on to me, Agent Stark?" Loki asked slyly.  
" _Answer the question._ "  
"Nine."  
"Thank you very much, Loki. That will be all. I hope you enjoy the rest of your time here, rotting away until you go to hell." Laura said sweetly, then turned and left.

* * *

Two hours and five interviews with Loki's guards later, Thor and Sif were walking Laura back down the rainbow bridge towards Heimdall and her home.  
"Oh, before I forget…" Laura exclaimed, suddenly remembering the communications device in her pocket. "Coulson asked me to give you this; if we ever need you, a message will pop up on the screen."  
"Thank you, Lady Laura. It was very good to see you." Thor said as they approached the entrance to the Bifrost. He crushed her once again into a hug and smiled as he released her. "I do hope we will be seeing each other soon."  
"As do I. See you soon, Thor." Laura said, returning his smile.  
She turned and shook hands with Heimdall and Sif.  
Then she stepped into the Bifrost, and the whirlwind of colour started again to bring her home.


	15. Chapter 15: Not Again

**A/N**

 **review replies:**

 **candycrum: Aw thank you!**

 **~TTB**

"So, I am not joking here, a giant floating head called 'Modok' has started terrorising Times Square. It's all the NYPD can do to keep civilians from getting close, those inside are on their own, which is why you lot have been called in." Laura explained to an already suited up Avengers team on the plane, which took off only seconds ago. "We need you to infiltrate past the NYPD and Modok's own defences and take him down before more people get hurt. I want you all in teams of three or four infiltrating from different locations around their barricade. Those teams are as follows: the aerial assault will be from the fliers, so Iron Man, War Machine, Falcon and Vision. Then from the North side of the square will be Spiderman, Pietro, the Captain and 'Tasha. Clint, I want you to find yourself a nice roof where you can see everything. Finally, I want Wanda, Scott and Bucky to enter from the South side. Any questions?"  
A blonde woman stepped forwards and raised her hand, looking bored. Laura tried her very best to ignore her, but when no-one else raised a question, Laura raised an eyebrow at her.  
"Yes Agent 13?"  
"What about S.H.I.E.L.D? Why aren't we a part of your master plan?" She asked, folding her arms.  
Laura internally sighed. "You're the backup if we _really_ need it. That's it." She paused and looked around at everyone else. "That's all for now, guys."  
She moved towards where Natasha and Clint were stood and rolled her eyes, gesturing towards Agent 13. "I could throw her out of this plane. And right now I'm considering it." Laura muttered, earning her a very loud snort from Clint.  
"We're approaching the drop zone, Laura." May said in her earpiece.  
"Thanks May." Laura said, then turned to the others. "Aerial team, prepare for departure!" She shouted at the assembled group. They walked forwards as the hangar door opened, and together jumped out and flew towards the city. "South team, go!" she shouted, and watched Steve, Nat and Peter jump out. "Clint, go!" Clint left. "Right, the rest of you with me on the count of three."  
Laura stepped carefully towards the edge of the hangar door, and was joined by Wanda, Scott and Bucky.  
" _Go!_ " she shouted, and they jumped, free falling for a while, the pulling individual parachutes and landing side by side in a street near Times Square. By the sounds of it, the aerial assault on Modok had already begun. The four ran together, and attacked.  
Scott was lost to Laura's sight instantly, shrinking down and attacking the defences in order for them to get through. Then Wanda vanished into the chaos, using her magic to identify where trapped civilians were, and defending herself at the same time.  
Laura and Bucky stuck together, working perfectly like a well-oiled machine; one throwing a punch, and the other finishing off the assailant; Bucky attacking and Laura finishing off with her powers.  
Within minutes, the guards were down, and the majority of the team were focusing their energies on Modok.  
Except Steve. As she ran towards the damn floating head, Laura notice him be grabbed by a rogue soldier, and have something whispered in his ear. He went rigid, and then started to follow the soldier out of the fray in a trance.  
" _Buck, something's wrong with Steve!"_ she shouted, and the two backed away and followed.  
"Hang on, won't the others need us?" Bucky asked, grabbing Laura, and almost pulling her back.  
"I'll call Daisy for some reinforcements." She said, and did just that as they continued to follow through several deserted streets.  
"I figured you'd follow." The soldier said, suddenly turning and looking at where Laura and Bucky were crouched behind a taxi.  
Laura took a deep breath, and stood up, staring confusedly at the faceless soldier and Steve.  
"What the hell have you done to him?" she asked, looking into Steve's eyes, trying to find a trace of the man she married in there.  
"When we, Hydra, that is, had Captain Rogers in our control, we programmed his brain to go into an impenetrable trance if we spoke a simple key word into his ear. Of course, there is another word that can reactivate his brain if we so choose, but why would we want to, where's the fun in that?"  
" _Let him go!_ " Bucky yelled, the rage of the assassin in him starting to take control.  
The man from Hydra just smirked, then, as an explosion ripped through the street, they vanished.

* * *

For a few moments, Laura blacked out from the explosion. When she awoke, she was greeted with the sight of Bucky stood where Steve had been moments ago, searching feverishly for any trace.  
"Buck… Bucky he's gone." She tried to call, but all she could manage was a strangled cry.  
"No. No, not again. I _can't_ lose him again. It's not _fair_!"  
"Bucky, we'll find him. I _promise_." Laura tried, slowly getting to her feet.  
" _WHAT DO YOU CARE IF HE COMES BACK ALIVE OR NOT?"_ Bucky suddenly shouted, marching towards her. "Ever since he's been back, you've acted like he's just some Hydra he's not the _father of your child._ Like the ring you still wear on your fingeris _nothing._ _DO YOU KNOW WHAT THAT DID TO HIM?_ Do you even realise _how much he still loves you?_ "  
Laura had tears in her eyes as she stared at him. As the realisation dawned upon her.

She _did_ still love him. She wanted to be with him; to love him, to share the rest of her life with him. She imagined them buying an actual house together, with a room for Jamie and a beautiful back garden for him to play in. hell, she even wanted to have another kid with him. She wanted him back.

And she might have just lost that opportunity forever. _Again._


	16. Chapter 16: The New Kids

**A/N**

 **SORRY IT'S BEEN OVER TWO WEEKS... I've had A-levels... and... stuff...**

 **Review replies:  
Candycrum: yep! And here's your update!**

 **~TTB**

"Tell me again from the beginning."  
" _Again?_ " Laura groaned, and exchanged a pained look with Bobbi as she started recounting the events of the last few hours for the third time. Coulson raised his eyebrow. " _Fine_. I saw some Hydra guy grab Steve and whisper something in his ear, then Steve became totally catatonic, and he started obeying everything the arse would say, then they just vanished."  
"Vanished?" May asked sceptically.  
"There was an explosion… _I don't know_! All I know is I blacked out, then they were gone and Buck was yelling at me. Ask him if you want… _I didn't see."_  
Coulson sighed and rubbed the back of his neck. "Okay… can you ask Bucky to come in then? I need his version of events."  
Laura nodded, and got out of her chair, then exited the room and nodded sourly at Bucky to indicate he could go in. She walked slowly down the corridor, crossing her arms and constantly blinking back tears as she found herself walking towards Jamie's playroom. He wasn't there; Tony had taken him to spend a few days with him in Malibu once they realised that Steve could potentially lead Hydra to the base. Laura found comfort in the room sometimes; it was painted a pale yellow, and had pictures framed all around it that she and Steve had picked out before he was even born. The range of stuffed toys, books and games were currently stacked neatly against the walls gave the room a playful splash of colour, reminding Laura of the loving childhood she never received.  
"We'll get him back." Bucky's voice made Laura jump ten feet.  
" _Jesus Christ James what the hell was that for?"_ Laura exclaimed, grabbing the area around her heart and spinning around to face him.  
"Sorry, Phoenix!" Bucky laughed and Laura rolled her eyes at the nickname Bucky created a few days ago after watching Harry Potter and deciding that Fawkes and Laura were the same person.  
"How do you _know_ we'll get him back?"  
"Because it's the two of you, and from what I've heard you've both defied death to get back to each other, and I know you'll do it again."  
"God you make us sound like we should be on Once Upon a Time." Laura joked, and shook her head dismissively when Bucky looked confused. "We'll binge watch it when this is all over. I think you'd like it." She decided, smiling at him.  
They stood in silence for a few moments, before Coulson's voice soared through both of their ears.  
" _Stark, Barnes; get to the hangers now._ "  
They looked at each other in confusion, and immediately took off jogging down the corridors, both thanking their lucky stars they hadn't bothered to change out of their combat gear.  
In around thirty seconds, they were joining the others near Zephyr-One, the new plane Fitz had designed.  
"Sir, what's wrong?" Laura asked as soon as Coulson acknowledged they were there.  
"Hydra… Captain Rogers must have directed them because they're currently attacking your father's mansion." He explained, leading them onto the plane as it started to initiate take-off.  
" _What?_ " Laura exclaimed, her eyes widening and her body beginning to shake.  
"What's wrong?" Coulson asked worriedly, Tony could, after all, hold off a few Hydra soldiers for a little while.  
"He's looking after Jamie for the week." Laura whispered, trying to calm herself down as she felt herself lose control and start to heat up.  
"Have you managed to make contact with Stark?" Bucky asked, folding his arms and trying to keep Laura and himself focused on the mission.  
"No, the line's dead… all we got was an alert from Jarvis before he was turned offline." Coulson explained, sounding stressed.  
Laura and Bucky both mustered ' _Jesus´_ under their breaths when they heard this. If Jarvis was down, any hope of getting through to anyone in the mansion had just been tossed out of the window.  
"Now what do we do?" Laura asked, shakily trying to clear her head  
"We're headed there now for a surprise attack. We should be there within twenty minutes."  
Laura nodded, and walked away towards the kitchen area; she _needed_ a cup of tea. Bucky followed suit, falling into step with her in comfortable, yet still tense, silence.  
As soon as she saw the group of people assembled in the kitchen, all dressed for combat, Laura managed to beam; Clint, Nat, Wanda, Thor, Daisy, Vision, Peter and Kim were all holding steaming mugs and talking around the table. Next to them were three people that she didn't recognise; a tall man with a goatee similar to her fathers with black hair with two white streaks down either side of his head wearing a red cape, an African man dressed all the way to his chin in black, holding a mask in his hand, and a blonde woman wearing a suit of red, blue and gold.  
"Um… hi!" Laura shouted over the noise, trying to get the attention of the group, none of whom had noticed her or Bucky yet.  
" _Laura!_ " Kim exclaimed, and ran over to give her a bear hug. At 18, she was still no different from the bubbly 16-year-old that Laura had last seen two years ago.  
"Hi, Kim." Laura smiled when Kim released her, only to be crushed once more by Thor. "Hi… Thor…" She whispered, then was left gasping for breath as Thor moved on to Bucky.  
"Why are you all here?" Laura asked them collectively. "And who are those guys?" She asked another questioned, pointing at the three she did not recognise.  
"I am Steven Strange, Sorcerer Supreme." The man in the cloak introduced, holding out a hand that looked far too calloused and scarred for just a magician. Laura decided not to ask.  
"T'Challa." The African man introduced.  
"As in T'Challa, Prince of Wakanda?" Laura asked, shaking his hand suspiciously.  
"Indeed."  
" _Nice_."  
"I'm Carol Danvers. Known as Captain Marvel." The blond woman shook her hand and smiled.  
"Hi." Laura said, returning the smile half-heartedly.  
"We're here because our annoying billionaire friend is being attacked by Nazi's… God, that's a sentence I thought I'd never say…" Clint muttered, making Laura chuckle.  
"Laura, we're approaching your dad's mansion." May said in her earpiece.  
"Right. Okay, we're going to have to keep the element of surprise. _That is key_. So, we'll slip off into teams of three and enter from different places in the building.  
I want Spiderman, Vision and Thor to scale the cliff, or fly, depending on what's easier, and attack from there; Strange, Nat and Daisy will enter from the garage by dad's workshop. Kim, Clint and I will enter from the front door, and the rest, that's Wanda, T'Challa and Captain Marvel, to enter via the roof.  
Now, remember guys, my _son_ is in there, and I'd quite like to keep him alive. If you see a boy that looks around two or three with blonde hair, for God's sake, whatever you're doing, _please_ get him out."  
She was met with nods of approval for her plan, and, with no cup of tea, left for the hangar doors for the second damn time that day.  
They all left at roughly the same time, and all got into position in complete silence.  
"Okay…" Laura whispered into her earpiece. "In three… two… one… _GO_!" They all burst in on their respective entrances, but were all met with empty quite corridors.  
" _WHAT THE HELL DO YOU THINK YOU'RE DOING, LAURA_?" Came a shout of fury as her father marched in front of them, completely unharmed, followed by Pepper, Rhodey, and her son.  
"Wait… this makes no sense…" Clint spoke up from behind her.  
"Where are the villains?" Thor's voice asked in her ear.  
"Dad, we got an alert from Jarvis that you were being attacked by Hydra?" Laura tried to explain, accidentally phrasing it like a casual question.  
"Well clearly not." Tony replied, clearly holding in his rage at her for bursting in and replacing it with equal confusion.  
"I sent no such alert today." Jarvis's robotic voice spoke from out of thin air.  
"Laura, I have no idea what you're talking about, but Rhodey and I only _just_ got back from the fight with M.O.D.O.K… I would like some peace if that's at all possible."  
"Wait, but if that means that Hydra's not actually attacking you, then…" Laura tried to figure out a nagging feeling in her head.  
" _Laura, we have an emergency at the base. Steve's led Hydra here… abort mission and get back here NOW_ " Coulson's hurried and out of breath voice broke through Laura's train of thought into her earpiece.  
"Oh my God." Clint muttered, catching Laura's eye in absolute horror.  
"What?" Tony asked.  
"This was a distraction." Laura said, realising it herself.  
"We need to go… _now_."


	17. Chapter 17: Mindless

**A/N**  
 **I'm really bad at this updating on time thing at the moment... I'm in the middle of my A-Levels at the moment, so if the next chapter is late, that's why!  
review replies:  
candycrum - here you go!**

 **~TTB**

The corridors of the enemy seemed familiar to the mindless soldier that lead an army through them. _Mindless_. That's what they told him when he first arrived two years ago. _You will be our mindless pawn.  
Our soldier.  
The secret weapon no-one will ever see coming_. He felt like he was in a daze, like there was something in the back of his mind that he needed to remember. It probably wasn't important. This place seemed so empty, unnaturally empty. It sent a strange chill down his spine, like he wasn't used to seeing no-one around here… how strange, considering he couldn't quite remember ever being here before in his life. To be honest, his life was a blur of nothingness right now. He couldn't quite think of any particular person or event from anywhere in his life.  
Except… _except…_ a woman with brown hair smiling at him from across the room. She had an accent… not his accent, though, something _else_. Something that seemed so much more refined from how he sounded to himself. He couldn't quite remember her face. For some reason, he felt like it had been decades since he had seen her. But what could have happened that meant he hadn't seen her for decades? Suddenly, a memory. It was fleeting, but it was there; he was alone, scared… it was a plane. He was alone inside a plane. The British accent of this woman spoke through, but not from behind him or next to him… it came through a speaker in the plane. She was crying, telling, no, pleading with him to give her a few moments to find him a landing site… then, nothing again.

He led them through labs, training rooms, aircraft hangars, offices and bunks. He felt like something in his gut was telling him to stay away from one area… like there was something, or someone, incredibly important there… that he should never go anywhere near there. He should not lead them there. He would _not_ lead them there.

"Rogers?" A familiar accent spoke from behind him. It was brisk, stern, commanding.  
"Sir?" He responded, pausing and turning around. _Rogers_. He assumed that was his name. That's what they all seemed to call him. Some called him 'Captain', but those who did would do so with a malicious smile one their faces, a snigger.  
"You're faltering. There's something else down those corridors that you haven't led us to yet. Why not?" the accent asked.  
"This feeling… I just feel like we shouldn't go down there." He tried to explain. But how could he, when his head was telling him to lead these people away, but his heart was telling him to find out what was down there; whatever it was, it had to be important to him.  
"Send three soldiers down there."  
" _No!"_ he shouted before he could realise what he was saying.  
"Send five."  
He kept himself from shouting this time. Reminding himself of his mindlessness. But he couldn't be, if his gut was telling him whatever was down there could not be found by these people.  
He forced himself to move on with the group, letting his eyes tear away from the mysterious corridor.  
Within an hour they had taken the base.

* * *

"We're about five minutes out. Prep for a rough landing." A stressed voice spoke over the intercom. Laura gave no signal that she acknowledged this, instead choosing to stay seated inside the hangar with her head in her hands. The tears had come and gone. She couldn't focus on being sad at the moment, not when Steve was on a murderous rampage through the place she called home.  
Eventually, she forced herself to her feet and walked over to where her father stood, alone.  
"You okay?" He asked her.  
"No… are you?" Laura muttered quietly, fresh tears threatening to roll down her face.  
"Nope." Tony admitted, placing a robotic hand on her shoulder. "We'll be okay though. The two of you always seem to defy all odds to get back to each other… I hope this is that same as before"  
Laura scoffed slightly at this… everyone seemed to think that they always found each other no matter what… it was like being a part of the cast of _Once Upon A Time_.  
"What? It's true!" Tony remarked, laughing slightly at her scoff. "You died, then came back, then he died and came back after two years… I would say that makes you a miracle couple."  
Laura just laughed again, and was saved from thinking up a witty comment by the rest of the team joining them in the hangars as the plane landed in a field as close to the base as they could manage. There had been no time to discuss tactics on the way back to the case, so everyone quickly split up into random groups and took different paths to get there. Laura ended up with Bucky, Peter and Kim, entering from the South side of the building, where there was a series of vents big enough to squeeze through.  
"Well, this is like a scene from any bad action movie ever." Peter muttered when they were all in and crawling to the exit in the bunks.  
" _Peter, shut up!"_ Laura hissed from her place at the front. She was already stressed enough as it was without Peter's sarcastic sense of humour getting in the way.  
After her snap, they continued in silence, which comforted Laura in some strange way. Eventually, they reached their exit. Laura dropped down first, and took a moment to look around and make sure of no soldiers in the corridor before gesturing for the others to follow.  
When they joined her, Laura started to move forwards slowly, heating up her palms with every step in preparation for any conflict. It was several minutes before they met anyone, and when they did, it was bad.  
Laura sped up to round a corner, and immediately regretted it as she was instantly met with a punch, which she easily met. She returned the favour, then kicked her assailant in the knees and allowed herself to back away to get her bearings.  
"Jeez… you two have to stop meeting like this." Laura heard Kim say quietly once they realised who it was.  
Laura herself struggled to keep herself cool and calm as she stared at her assailant and the blank eyes of Steve stared back.


	18. Chapter 18: Taking It All Back

**A/N**

 **SORRY SORRY SORRY SORRY SORRY SORRY**

 **i have a half decent excuse for this chapter being so late... I had A-levels that I had to sit... then I got obsessed with Hamilton and my life just spiralled into hell after that. I haven't listened to anything but Hamilton in over a week... I need help.**

 **anyways, review replies:**

 **candycrum: thanks... sorry it was so late!**

 **Sorry again!**

 **~TTB**

Laura wasn't quite sure what to do; any hope of a decent strategy vanished as she stared in those eyes she knew better than her own.  
"Steve?" she whispered, cautiously taking a small step forwards.  
He said nothing, and instead braced himself for battle. In the back of his mind, a small voice tried to tell him that he knew this woman and the man stood behind her with the long hair. They did look familiar to him, so familiar he could have sworn he knew them.  
Instead of listening to the small voice, he attacked. Aiming for the woman's knees, he found himself knocked to the ground by someone behind him. He flipped himself around and delivered a blow to the gut of his attacker; a man dressed head to toe in red and blue. The blow was so powerful that Peter hit the wall, slid down it and lay, motionless on the floor.  
"It doesn't matter how many of your friends you throw at us… how much power flows through your veins. Because you are nothing. _Nothing_ without it. Without them. That power makes you, and without it you're like me. Mindless." It was Steve's voice, but it somehow didn't sound like Steve. It sounded coarse, rough, like it had been speaking a lot.  
Laura tried not to take the challenge. She fought with her pride before he charged, slamming Bucky and Kim into the walls and leaving them unconscious either side. He moved in to tackle her, but she sidestepped, and flipped him to the ground.  
"If you really want to be that arrogant, you've forgotten who trained me." Laura spat, trying to keep her powers under control as she stared down at him.  
He snarled, and quickly got to his feet, eyes boring into hers, like he was trying to see into her soul.  
"And who would that be?"  
"You." She said simply, then charged, slamming her fist into his gut and reaching to kick his knees out from underneath him. Before she could kick out, he had both hands on her waist and was launching her into the air. After a brief second of panic, Laura landed on her feet, knees buckling from the pain of the landing. She winced in pain, then tried to not let it show as she found herself face-to-face with him once again.  
"Give up." Steve said to her breathlessly, his eyes meeting hers again.  
"I will when you do."  
When they ran towards each-other again, Laura felt like she was in slow motion. She ducked and swerved; punched and kicked until she was covered in bruises and Steve had to retreat because of a bloody nose.  
"Do… you know who… I am?" Laura breathed, utterly exhausted from the fight.  
"Enemy" Steve muttered, wiping the blood away from his nose and struggling to his feet.  
"Do you even know who you are?" Laura asked him, taking a cautious step forward.  
"Mindless."  
"Wait… what?" Laura was taken aback by his answer.  
"I am the mindless soldier. I am mindless. I am nothing more." He sounded robotic.  
Laura opened her mouth to say something- _anything_ , when he fell forward and groaned. Stood behind his was a now awake Bucky, holding a piece of piping he had ripped from one of the walls.  
"Thanks." Laura muttered as he walked to stand beside her.  
"Don't mention it."  
Steve pushed himself to his knees, eyes coming in and out of focus.  
"Laura?" he rasped, looking up at them both.  
"Yeah… yeah it's me." Laura said, looking down at him cautiously  
"Jamie!" Steve exclaimed, and tried pushing himself to his feet.  
"Steve, what are you talking about?" Laura asked, pushing him back to the ground.  
"Jamie… they… his room. I led them to his room." Steve said frantically, again trying to get to his feet.  
"Steve, he's at my dad's in Malibu." Laura said calmly, pushing Steve back down.  
"He… what?" Steve asked, then passed out.  
Laura fought back a laugh, and instead turned and helped Peter to his feet.  
"What do we do now?" Kim asked, folding her arms casually, like what was happening simply wasn't, and they were just on a stroll around the park.  
"Call Coulson?" Peter suggested, and Laura nodded, and did so.  
After a few moments on the phone, Laura turned back to the group. "Get him to the med bay. We're back in control of the base."

* * *

Laura and Bucky stood impatiently in the mess hall with untouched mugs of liquid that had stopped steaming a long time ago. They didn't speak and they didn't even look at each other as they waited for news on Steve's state. It was at least an hour before a tired Simmons walked in, circles under her eyes and a pale face.  
"Is everything okay?" Laura asked immediately, striding over to where Simmons had just entered.  
"We…" she looked down at her feet, almost ashamed.  
"What?" Bucky asked quietly.  
"We had to place him in a coma while we figure out what they did to his brain. He won't be in it for long, a week at most… I _promise_."  
"A coma?" Laura asked disbelievingly.  
"Yes." Simons practically whispered.

It was the longest week of Laura's life. Jamie returned to the base after three days, and Laura spent all her time entertaining him, staying near Steve's bedside and ignoring any orders Coulson gave her. The only reason she didn't die from starvation was Bucky, who made her eat and brought her food when she refused to leave, and forced her to sleep, even for a few hours.  
On the eighth day, Steve still wasn't out of his coma. Laura awoke after the first long night sleep since the whole mess started. She showered slowly, and got dressed even slower, dragging her feet and taking ten minutes just to pull a single sock on her foot. She pulled her hair into a messy bun and left her room, walking at a snail's pace towards the med bay. She had barely made three steps, however, when she saw him at the end of the corridor, tall, handsome, strong and looking in perfect condition.  
He looked at her and their eyes met. Within seconds, his was filled with tears, and his mouth was hanging open slightly.  
"Steve?" She whispered, not moving, feeling a tear rolling down her cheek.  
"It's me. I _promise_."


	19. Chapter 19: One Last Time

**A/N**

 **I want to take this moment to say thank you to everyone who has read this and kept with Laura all the way through. This will be the last chapter of this story and of the adventures I've written involving Laura. I've completely exhausted myself with her and I can't bring myself to write anymore. So this is it.**

 **I will continue writing. I have a great idea for a Harry Potter one that I'm hoping to finish and publish soon, and another idea for a Batman one and another Avengers! I'm not sure when (and if) I'll write and publish them, but if you're interested please check them out!**

 **Thank you for everything guys, and to my reviewer(s), you guys are AMAZING! Thank you so much, you really gave me motivation to keep Laura's story alive and let her adventures continue.**

 **(Also if any of you guys listen to music while reading this stuff, I would recommend 'One Last Time" from Hamilton, cause that's what I listened to when writing this chapter, and I think the song go well with this chapter)**

 **Thanks so much again**

 **~The Teddy Bear 3**

The second Laura was close enough, she was kissing him. A passion and a fire that she hadn't felt for so long reawakened inside of her, and she complied as she felt Steve softly push her backwards against the wall. He paused and let go for a second, pressing his forehead against hers and smiling down at her small form.

"My god I've missed you." He whispered, and captured Laura once again in another, even more passionate than the last, kiss. She smiled into it, rejoicing at the feeling of the man she loved being back in her arms once again.

"How far away is your bunk?" He asked, moving away again.

Laura said nothing, but led him down the corridor a few feet until she reached a door which was slightly open from when she had exited it only minutes ago.

She stared at him for a second, before Steve pushed them both through the door and into her bunk, shutting the door behind him.

For ten minutes they just stood inside her room kissing like there was no tomorrow. Laura ran her hands through his hair, reacquainting herself with every detail of his head and face like it had been several lifetimes since they had done this. Because, in some ways, it had.

Eventually, Laura started to walk backwards in the direction of her bed, followed very enthusiastically by Steve, never once breaking their kiss and before either of them knew it, Laura was lying underneath Steve, still ferociously kissing him.

Laura stopped momentarily, and stared up at Steve, who was on all fours above her, and bit her lip. "I love you." She muttered, lifting one of her hands to caress his cheek.

He stopped still, and he had the same look on his face that he had the first time she said this to him, a lifetime ago in his old DC apartment.

"You have no idea how long I've waited to hear you say those words again." He muttered. "I love you so much."

* * *

Steve awoke at 11:00 am the next morning to a sleeping Laura curled into his side. He shuffled out from under the covers slowly so as to not wake his wife and walked towards where his clothes had been tossed aside at some point the night before.

"You okay?" she murmured sleepily from behind him.

"Yeah… have you noticed you have a heating problem in your room? It's damn freezing in here!" Steve asked, pulling his shirt over his torso.

"I've never noticed it… being a human flame thrower has its perks." Laura explained, getting out of bed as well.

"Have you got a mission today?" Steve asked curiously, as Laura started to pull on tactical gear. She frowned at him, looked down at herself, chuckled, then stepped out of the clothing again.

"Well I must really need a coffee if I just tried to put that on instead of actually comfortable clothes."

Steve laughed, and sat down on her bed watching her dress.

"I thought an actual introduction to your son is in order." Laura said, looking away from him in guilt.

Steve noticed this and crossed the room instantly, placing both hands on her cheeks and lowering his face slightly so they could be on the same level.

"Don't ever feel guilty about what you did. Ever." He reassured her, fondly looking down into her eyes.

"I don't feel guilty about any of it." She whispered, moving away from Steve and towards her drawers, opening one and pulling out a maroon top with the Hogwarts logo on it – the very same one she had worn on the day she first arrived in the US; the day she joined S.H.I.E.L.D. and met her father; the day her life became better than it ever had been. "I just regret the fact that you never got the chance to properly meet your son. You deserved that chance. You never saw his first words or steps; you never got to see him smile. That's my only regret."

"You wanna know mine while we're wallowing in our own self-pity?" Steve half-joked, grinning goofily at her.

"Go for it."

"I never loved you enough. Ever." He admitted, looking down at his feet as he sat down dejectedly.

"What?" Laura's response was barely more than a whisper; barely a breath. She crossed the room again towards him, and sat down next to him.

"I should have fought harder the day you died. I should have never let you go through so much of your pregnancy alone. I should have tried to see you more often when the war was happening. I should have tried to live that day in the courthouse. I should have fought harder to get away from Hydra. Because you were worth it, Laura. You're worth so much more than the love I gave you."

"It was always enough."

Steve looked up, looking more tired than he ever had done in his life. But there was something in his eye that Laura hadn't seen since the day Jamie was born; hope.

"I love you." She said, and pulled Steve in for another kiss. It was loving, rather than passionate, as she felt sparks as he responded to the kiss, melting into her as they sat there together, not always kissing; sometimes talking, laughing, in a comfortable silence. At some point, neither of them knew when, their hands interlocked, and they found themselves lying down again; hands still interlocked, Laura's head resting against Steve's chest, his arm across her shoulders and his face buried in her hair. Laura could have stayed there forever, and, until they day she died she never forgot how she felt in that moment; the love in her heart and the feeling of utter bliss.

But, of course, she had to break the moment at some point.

" _Shit!_ " She cried, and jumped out of bed, sprinting to where she kept her shoes and started to shove on some red trainers.

"What?" Steve asked, wincing in pain from where she had elbowed him on her way out of bed.

"Jamie." Laura said, looking at him like he was stupid.

"Oh crap." Steve's face fell.

"We're terrible parents." Laura cried, half joking but half meaning it.

"No… we're just… unique at our job." Steve tried to put it in the nicest terms possible to try and not offend his wife.

"You're hilarious."

* * *

 _Six months later_

"Steve?" Laura called from the toilet of their apartment.

"Yeah, beautiful?" He responded immediately, walking with a cup of coffee in to see his wife sat on the toilet lid, holding something long and thin in her hand. "Uh… what's that?" he asked suspiciously, placing his coffee down in case he accidentally dropped it; he really liked this mug.

"Pregnancy test." Laura muttered, and their eyes met for a moment, Laura's pale and Steve's incredibly hopeful.

"And?" he asked, trying not to let her see his hands shaking.

"We're having another baby."

* * *

 _Nine months later_

"Please tell me this one's called Tony?"

Laura sighed as she held the small bundle in her arms, cradling the baby's head lovingly.

"Unfortunately not, father dear." She said, trying to hold in the sarcasm.

"Mommy what's baby's name?" Asked Jamie from where he was sat with Steve with his arms folded and trying to act like he was cross. Laura was trying so hard not to laugh at him as his brown eyes looked expectantly at her, the way a three-year-olds would.

"Yeah, c'mon Laura, you haven't even told me yet!" Bucky exclaimed from the other seat in the room.

"Please? You've all kept us hanging for _months_!" Coulson begged from where he was stood, leaning against the wall in the corner of the room.

"Alright… her name is Maria Sarah Rogers." Steve told them all, and was met with smiles of approval across the room.

"Oh come _on_!" Tony exclaimed, pretending to be annoyed. "Can you _please_ call the next one Tony?"

"The _next_ one?" Laura looked at her father like she was a teacher scolding a 9-year-old. "Why don't _you_ have a kid and name that one after yourself?"

"Because then there would be no sentimental value whatsoever!"

* * *

 _Six years later_

Laura, Steve, Tony and Bucky walked through Central Park, keeping one eye on the two kids playing a few feet in front of them; Maria was six years old, with shoulder-length copper hair and beautiful brown eyes. Jamie, nearly ten, had blonde hair at was cut much like his father's was in the '40's, with a broad, beautiful smile on his face as he played with his sister. In the pram in front of Laura was another child, two-year-old Thomas Anthony Rogers. He, of their three children, was the only one to have inherited their father's piercing blue eyes, and kept his mother's brown hair.

Laura looked at them with only love in her eyes. The pride and happiness they brought us overwhelmed her in everything they did, both good and bad. Her pride even shone through in their failures as she saw them grow into good, well-rounded people.

She was brought out of her thoughts by Steve, placing his hand on her shoulder and watching as Tony and Bucky went over to play with them.

"Look at them." He whispered in her ear, the same pride Laura had for them showing in his voice.

"We did good, huh?" She asked, smiling up at him.

"Yeah." He agreed, wrapping his arm around her and pulling her close to him. "Yeah we did."


End file.
